Beginnings
by MyCedarChest
Summary: Beginning 'The point in time or space at which something starts.' Merriam Webster
1. Chapter 1

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Paramount and whoever else has current legal ownership of all things Star Trek at the moment. No infringement on any corporate, business, or individual's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit, just for enjoyment.**

Chapter 1

It was typical pre-dawn morning weather in San Francisco: Ambient air temperature was 11 degrees Celsius with a north-northeast wind creating a wind chill of 7 degrees Celsius. A light rain was falling. Spock reached up to adjust the fastenings on his hood more tightly down around his head. Only his eyes and nose were now visible under the thermal layers and moisture resistant running gear that he was wearing. Even after years of early morning runs on this cross country course at Star Fleet Academy, he knew without a doubt that his body would never become acclimated to the damp and cold. In the purely physical sense, he found that he missed his home planet most during these daily runs. He quickly steered his mind and body back to the memories of his past runs on Vulcan as he increased his speed in a sudden effort to both combat the cold as well as his negative feelings towards his current living conditions.

He had hoped to have left this cold, damp climate behind for good after serving under Captain Pike, but that had not been the case. His field promotion to Commander under Pike's leadership had led Spock back to Star Fleet Headquarters with a promise from Captain Pike that he would give Spock a shot at the First Officer's position on the new flagship Enterprise. Unfortunately, the completion of the Enterprise was still two years away. Spock's godfather, Admiral Nelson had then persuaded him to teach at the Academy so that he could gain more leadership and inter-personal skills that would be necessary for command as an XO aboard a star ship. At the time that seemed quite the logical path to take during the interim as he waited for the Enterprise to be completed. But between the misbehavior of the current group of Cadets and the insufferable bureaucracy of the Star Fleet faculty, he sometimes found himself regretting taking such a path. Once in a moment of weakness in his weekly call home when he had complained about his misgivings concerning his decision to teach, his mother had offered him the cryptic words that 'all things happen for a reason'. And thinking upon her words, Spock decided that perhaps only time would tell what this particular path in life would bring to him. He resolved to be more patient with both the cadets and his colleagues.

As his breath deepened, readying himself for yet another increase in his pace as he ran onto the stadium track and level ground, he suddenly became aware of a heavily floral scent within the damp breeze. Jasmine and sandalwood with a light citrus undercurrent suddenly filled his head causing him to slow down in an effort to locate the source of the scents. His mother had raised him to be a gardener like herself, and floral fragrances had captivated his senses since he had been a small child. As he continued to run, his keen sense of smell indicated that the enticing scents were growing stronger as he was obviously now running towards the source of the fragrances. His path was currently taking him close to the 'tunnel' that led to the dressing rooms for the stadium.

Spock slowed down even more as his ears began to detect a melodic, beautiful voice in song. He recognized some of the words of the song as being sung in Kiswahili. One of his mother's colleagues was from the African continent of Earth and had spoken this language to him when he was young. This colleague had taught him many Kiswahili words as a child of four years when he was visiting the Earth with his mother for the first time. Spock quickly searched his memory and was now able to roughly translate that the song currently being sung was about the rain. How appropriate, Spock thought as he continued to slow down even more, suddenly captivated by the exquisite, female voice as it echoed out from within the tunnel. As he approached the structure he looked inside and noticed that a very petite female human was performing stretching exercises against one wall of the tunnel near the entrance. He swiftly concluded that she must indeed be the source of both the fragrances and the song.

As he passed in front of the tunnel entrance, the female quickly turned her head towards him as she continued to both stretch and sing and Spock immediately found himself locking eyes with her. He suddenly felt as if he had been struck by lightning as his heart began to beat erratically and his usually sure footed stride faltered, almost causing him to stumble. This female was extraordinarily beautiful; quite possibly the most beautiful woman Spock had ever seen in his life. Her eyes were dark like mahogany and her hair long and black, bound into what he knew was a 'ponytail'. He suddenly became aware of yet another scent being carried on the breeze towards him now, that of warm woman. He blinked in disbelief and tentatively breathed in another full breath of air confirming the scent. Against his will he found himself quickly on the path to full arousal as he struggled to tamp down his base emotions.

A radiant smile suddenly lit up her face as she continued to sing, and Spock felt his stride faltering once again. Most surprisingly to himself Spock realized that he didn't really mind that his carefully guarded and normally precise body movements were anything but at that moment. Suddenly several other humans emerged from the dressing rooms and called out their greetings to the human female. Spock noticed that she did not turn away from him as her companions spoke to her and that she continued to lock eyes with him. Spock then quickly managed to recover both his stride as well as his composure and he nodded curtly to her in what he hoped would be taken as an appropriate greeting as he quickly accelerated around the oncoming curve and away from the tunnel.

Once out on the cross county trail and sufficiently away from her scent and song, he willed himself to calm down and quickly began to analyze what had just happened to him. He had been in the presence of many human females in the past and he had always been able to control his natural desires. After all he was a healthy male Vulcan and such base desires were as much a part of the Vulcan male psyche as they were in the human male. But something about this siren in the form of a human female both fascinated and frightened him at the same time because of the strength of the reaction that her presence elicited in him. This woman had somehow been able to completely disable his emotional shields with just one look and one smile. He suddenly found himself torn between either finding a way to reconnect with her or making sure that he would never again be in her presence; inwardly knowing that either one of these courses of action were totally illogical. He quickly picked up his pace once again seeking the calm and focus that running had always given him.

The morning sun had managed to peek out from the heavy cloud cover and the rain ceased as Spock completed the cross country course and ran once again onto the stadium track. He quickly scanned the track and immediately located the woman he had seen earlier in the tunnel on the far side of the track. Her group had set up hurdles on one part of the track and they were obviously now involved in training for a track and field event.

As he slowed down to a walk, he continued to watch the group of hurdlers, and in particular the woman he had seen in the tunnel. Spock was amazed as he watched the petite woman glide effortlessly over the hurdles still clad in her warm up suit and he quickly found himself at a complete stop on the track as two runners suddenly overtook him. He swiftly turned and walked off the track, but instead of going to the dressing room to shower and change he decided instead to climb high into the bleachers in order to better view the hurdlers.

He sat down and immediately began to watch spellbound as the woman began to remove her warm up suit obviously now warmed up sufficiently to began running in earnest. The vision of her lithe form now encased in a most revealing track uniform suddenly left him breathless. He quickly performed a self examination and noted that his body was now refusing somehow to obey his brain. He then realized that he was not only on the verge of hyperventilating but the sudden tightness of his crotch region was indicative that a full blown erection was well on its way to tenting the front of his running pants. Spock quickly leaned forward over his waist as he sat in order to shield his arousal from anyone passing by him.

He immediately began to analyze his current situation. He had absolutely no idea why he was physically reacting to this woman in such a way. Yes, she was beautiful and yes, he did long for her to wrap her long legs and arms around him in the throes of passion. 'Where had this thought suddenly come from?' he asked himself. He quickly threw such carnal thoughts from his mind as he began to silently meditate trying his best to take back control over his body. However he was finding it most difficult to concentrate upon this task now. He soon found himself wanting to re-open his eyes to gaze upon his woman once again. 'And just how was it that she was 'his' woman now?' he also had to ask himself. During his inward struggle to regain control of his emotions, it slowly dawned on him that perhaps he was now experiencing the beginnings of pon'farr. This condition would explain his strong sexual and emotional reaction to this particular woman. He quickly closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down as he focused on a solution to a particular physics problem that had been plaguing him all day yesterday. Slowly his erection subsided and upon realizing that he was no longer in any danger of discovery, he quickly rose and literally ran to the Men's dressing room reasoning that removing himself from the presence of this woman would once again restore his sanity.

The rest of the day passed by most slowly for Spock. He tried his best to stay within the confines of his office so that he could meditate further upon his earlier reaction to the woman. Fall semester classes weren't scheduled to begin until next week. He had hoped that the hallways and grounds would not be crowded with cadets as he excused himself early from his office duties so as to return to his apartment at a time which would find his mother at home and awake. He disliked what he was going to ask her, but he had to find out if he needed to leave Earth immediately for Vulcan. In her time married to a Vulcan male Amanda Grayson had been through four pon'farrs with his father. Surely she would be able tell if Spock were entering into pon'farr.

Spock had been relieved during his 21st year of life that he had showed no signs of pon'farr as he served as science officer for Captain Pike. Spock did not know if the absence of the 'blood fever' was the result of his mixed heritage or because of the nature of his bond with his betroved, T'Pring. His betrothal bond to T'Pring had always been weak, almost non-existent. But even through this weak bond with her, he had felt her anger and contempt that she was bonded to him at various times throughout the years. And although he felt neither anger nor contempt towards T'Pring, he was most certain that she was **not** the bond mate for him. Seven months ago she let him know through their bond that she had selected another as her mate and that she now wanted to formally dissolve the bond with Spock. He had planned on approaching his father during his next leave on Vulcan with this information. Spock knew that his father would resist breaking the bond, but he also knew that his mother would indeed agree to assist him and that she would somehow persuade Sarek to present the annulment to T'Pau for approval.

As his mother's image appeared on the screen, Spock immediately could feel her emotions through their bond: surprise and concern.

"Safu" she began her bright eyes focused intently on his "Are you well?"

He looked deeply into her eyes gathering his thoughts into order once again as he prepared for this difficult conversation with his mother. "I am uncertain, ko-mekh." He began as her expression grew even more serious. He took a long, calming breath and decided to jump right to the reason for his call to her. "I am concerned that I am experiencing the beginnings of pon'farr."

Her eyes suddenly widened and Spock could now feel concern edged with fear through their bond. "What makes you believe this, safu?" she asked quietly "Is your body temperature elevated?"

Spock was silent as he thought back to this morning. "No Ko-mekh, I have not experienced a rise in metabolic temperature as of yet." He explained knowing that the 'blood fever' was one of the first symptoms of pon'farr. "I….I encountered a woman this morning whilst I was running."

His mother's face visibly relaxed and Spock could now feel calm replacing her fear through their bond. A small smile now appeared on her face. Spock knew that further explanations were in order if his mother were to answer any of his questions rationally from this point forward.

In his silence, the smile on his mother's face widened and Spock frowned at her in frustration.

"I am sorry that I frustrate you, Spokh." His mother apologized "But you do not appear to be in the beginnings of pon'farr at all." She explained "I would know through our bond if this time for you had begun, safu."

Spock breathed out a sigh of relief hoping that his mother did not notice his emotional response to her words.

"Now tell me all about this 'woman'!" She then asked excitedly.

"There is nothing to tell, ko-mekh." He replied quickly.

"Spokh, I know you better than you know yourself." She pushed onward knowing just how stubborn her son could be about personal matters. "Something happened to you today…I felt it."

Spock was actually surprised at his mother's words and she smiled knowingly at him noting his surprise.

"Your father felt it too, although he is too stubborn to admit it….just like you are."

She continued with another small smile. "You met someone today….someone special."

"I did not meet her exactly." Spock admitted cutting his eyes away from his mother's briefly.

"Oh…then explain to me what happened, safu." She requested quietly, not able to keep the twinkle of a smile from her eyes as he once again focused his eyes upon hers.

"Ko-mekh, please allow me to further explain." He began "With one look and smile this woman made me falter in my running stride as well as caused my mind to momentarily lose all rational thought. My heart rate became erratic and I found that I could no longer control my body."

"Could your reaction to this woman be the result of you not eating breakfast before your morning run, or perhaps such reaction was the result of the dampness and cold of your environment?" She asked her face now set to neutral as she spoke.

Spock knew that his mother was now in the midst of creating what he termed a 'romantic fabrication'. She was a very passionate person by nature and had always balanced her expected duties as wife and mother on Vulcan with her innate emotional inner self through these fabrications. To that end his mother had hidden dozens of terran romance novels in and around their home for years. Spock had noticed through his observations of his mother during the years of his youth that most of these fabrications occurred immediately following periods of great stress. And her relief that he was not injured, ill, or in the throes of pon'farr was no doubt triggering this particular fabrication.

"Or is it perhaps that this woman is an enchantress, a spirit sent to capture your heart and katra, safu?" She continued with her questioning, her eyes once again betraying her intentions to tease him.

He frowned again at her.

"All right, all right Spokh." She said, a huge smile breaking forth upon her face "I will now cease with my romantic conjecture. Now please tell me the whole story of your 'encounter' with this 'mystery' woman of yours."

"Ko-mekh please. This woman is neither a mystery or mine." Spock defended.

"Again I offer my apologies, Spokh." His mother replied with the beginnings of yet another smile on her face.

"**As** I was saying" As Spock began to tell his story once again "during my morning run today I detected an unusual scent of a floral nature."

"Can you describe the fragrance?" his mother inserted quickly then noting the impatient look on her son's face. "My humble apologies for the interruption."

"Jasmine and sandalwood, with citrus undertones." He continued noting her satisfaction with his description. "I also heard an exquisite voice in song."

"Singing?" his mother interrupted once again mouthing he word 'sorry' to him as he frowned back at her.

"Yes, singing ko-mekh." He replied once again ready to carry on with his detailed account of his encounter. "I recognized the Kiswahili words were to a children's song about the rain."

"Then she is from the African continent?" his mother quickly interjected.

"Unknown. I did not get the chance to inquire about her point of origin." He replied a sigh suddenly sagging his broad shoulders. "Ko-mekh, please."

Amanda shrugged her shoulders in remorse for her latest interruption. "Please continue safu."

"As I ran towards the entrance way to the dressing rooms at the stadium, my eyes fell upon a lone woman as she performed her pre-run stretches and I immediately knew that she was the source of both the scents and the singing. As I was about to speak to her, others emerged from the dressing rooms hailing her. I did not wish to interrupt her discourse with her colleagues, so I continued on with my run leaving her presence."

"You had mentioned her smile before." His mother noted "What was so special about this smile of hers?"

"I cannot explain adequately." Spock responded now becoming slightly embarrassed about his words to his mother. He closed his eyes briefly as he remembered the natural beauty of her radiant smile and he paused briefly in order that he provide his mother with an accurate accounting of that smile. "Her smile was like the rays of gad shen breaking though the clouds. She was or should I say **is** without doubt, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. And I now find myself having no idea who she is or how or even if I should attempt to locate her again." He finished looking down and away from his mother so not to reveal any more than he already had to her about his strong emotional reaction to this woman.

"Do not despair, safu." His mother stated quietly as Spock quickly lifted his head to once again lock eyes with hers. "I believe most strongly that it is somehow fated that you two will meet again. Perhaps your spirits and destinies will align and you will find that she is your other half, your k'hat'n'dlawa. Only time will tell my son. My strongest wish and desire in this life is that you will find your bond mate and live out your life surrounded by logic **and** love. Until then be patient safu."

Spock was momentarily rendered speechless at his mother's words.

"I am sure that you will treat her with respect and honor upon formally meeting your 'mystery' woman. And I know you well enough to know that you will not violate the trust that will grow between the two of you in your relationship just to satisfy your physical needs. I am sure that you are already knowledgeable in the ways of self satisfaction of your base needs and I would advise you to do so in private with enough frequency that you will be successful in maintaining your self control while in her presence. With such beauty she is no doubt highly sought after by other males and will most likely be wary of any breaches in self control that you would display. I have taught you the proper way to treat a lady and I am positive that you will remember those lessons when interacting with her. She no doubt deserves such treatment." She continued her eyes reaching deep into his soul now. "You are a worthy being and most deserving of a mate that shares your fine qualities of personality and intellect."

She paused and smiled broadly at him, her face lighting up with sheer joy now. "I know that you do not share your feelings lightly and I am honored and most happy that you have chosen to share them with me this day. You can trust the truth in my words that 'all things happen for a reason'. I will await your call next week safu." She finished as the smile on her face grew even wider. "Until then I wish you life, love, and happiness my one and only child."

With those words of encouragement the com link with his mother faded to black. Spock sat quietly at his desk for a few minutes reflecting upon his mother's words. He would indeed meditate upon her words in great detail later. But first he would take his mother's advice and engage in what a former room mate of his called 'cold shower therapy'.


	2. Chapter 2

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Paramount and whoever else has current legal ownership of all things Star Trek at the moment. No infringement on any corporate, business, or individual's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit, just for enjoyment.**

**Beginnings Chapter 2**

She was always early. It had been a trait of hers since childhood to arrive far in advance of any activity. And today was no exception. Nyota Uhura had arrived 20 minutes early in order to allow herself enough time to properly stretch out her muscles before training. The last thing she wanted to do in front of her team mates/friends was to either embarrass or hurt herself this morning as she continued to teach them the proper techniques for running the hurdles. She and her friends had volunteered to help raise credits in the fall fundraiser for the local children's charities in San Francisco and their team had been selected to run the hurdle relay. Never the one to do anything half way, Nyota was going to make sure that her team was well trained prior to the track meet which would be the featured event during the week long fund raiser.

It was raining which normally would not have mattered to her, being from a relatively mild climate, the rain was not a rare occurrence in her world. However, the cold was a different matter entirely. How she missed the warmth of her native lands on mornings such as these. In order to raise her spirits, she began to sing a childhood song about the rain as she stretched. The tunnel that she was stretching in offered her both dry conditions as well as great acoustics. She soon found herself emboldened by the echo and raised her voice even louder in song.

She suddenly heard footsteps in the distance and stopped mid lyric to listen. The track had been completely deserted when she had looked out of the tunnel just before she began to stretch. She now focused on the foot falls. Who ever this runner was they were indeed very light on their feet as well as fast. And judging by the elapsed time between each step she surmised that this runner must also be very tall. He or she was no doubt quite dedicated too because of not only the early hour but the inclement weather as well.

She quickly started up her song again wanting to act nonchalant even though her interest was now peaked by this 'mystery' runner and she found herself most curious as to the runner's identity. Her father had always teased her that 'she had never met a stranger' and Nyota had to admit that there was some truth behind her father's words. As she heard the footfalls start to pass in front of the tunnel's entrance, she quickly turned her head mid verse in order to get a good look at the runner before he or she passed her by. She had been correct. The runner was indeed very tall, and judging by his very attractive physique, very much male. Unfortunately his face was bundled up against the cold dampness of the morning and she immediately regretted not being able to see his whole face. He was no doubt from a hotter, dryer climate to be as warmly clothed as he was. Her eyes then quickly focused upon his face as she immediately locked eyes with the runner's eyes. And in the split second that her gaze held his very dark, soulful eyes, she could plainly see curiosity no doubt very much mirrored in her own eyes sparkle within his dark orbs. It would seem that he was as much interested in her as she was in him.

Suddenly his powerful stride faltered slightly, sending his feet into a hastefully choreographed repositioning so as to regain his footing. She did not want to embarrass this pillar of maleness for fear of sending him away too quickly, so she continued to sing thereby giving him the appearance that she had not even noticed the lapse in his running style. But she couldn't help but smile at him as he once again fell into his stride when he tried unsuccessfully to project a false sense of nonchalance to her as he quickly recovered his composure.

She was immediately struck by the change in his eyes in response to her smile. His eyes suddenly darkened even further and she could inexplicably now feel his arousal which immediately caused her to have a similar lustful reaction. She had rarely ever been attracted to a man at first sight in the past, so her reaction to him was as surprising as it was strong.

As she continued to smile at him she noticed that his stride once again faltered but he appeared to be much less interested in regaining his rhythm in a dignified fashion this time as he began to slow his pace. She had the fleeting impression that he was about to stop and talk to her when she heard her teammates emerge from the dressing room calling out to her loudly.

"Hey, Ny!" Bobbie called out to her "Believe it or not we made it for practice even though it is practically still nighttime. I really don't understand **why** you had to change the practice time from late afternoon to the crack of dawn."

"Morning girlfriend!" Gaila shouted cheerfully to her.

"Hi Ny!" Shirley yelled loudly "I brought DOUUUGHNUTTTTS!"

Her eyes never leaving his, she watched as her mystery runner politely nodded to her as he began to once again regain his stride. He then picked up speed so quickly that within a fraction of a second he was out of her sight. Nyota immediately stopped both stretching and singing as she ran to the tunnel entrance to watch him as he rounded the next curve.

Her team mates swiftly caught up to her curious as to what had captured her attention so suddenly, and all four of them now stood watching at the tunnel entrance as the runner's stride lengthened once again when he entered the straight a way and he gained even more speed. His stride was both fluid and powerful. He was indeed a beautiful specimen of maleness. Nyota found that she could not take her eyes away from the sight of him.

"God!" Shirley remarked almost dropping the sack of doughnuts "Would you look at the ass on that!" she announced loudly to her team mates as they all continued to watch the runner.

"Ny" Gaila began "would it be OK with you if I sorta ran after and caught that gorgeous, fleet-footed male creature?" she asked Nyota not at all sure if she was teasing or not "It will only take me a few minutes to seduce him, I promise."

"Gaila! No!" Nyota replied firmly then realizing her abruptness. "We really need to practice for the track meet, not for a wrestling match." She followed up with quickly trying her best to cover up her unexplained feeling of possessiveness of the runner. "You are already quite proficient at seduction, so you certainly don't need any more practice."

Gaila turned to her surprised at Nyota's quick words. "Uh oh!" Gaila began, poking Nyota in the left shoulder with the index finger of her right hand. "Looks like someone here has already called 'dibs' on that hunk of maleness." She teased "I **hope** that I am using the word 'dibs' correctly." She then added quickly and contritely.

"No I'm not and yes you are." Nyota firmly replied back to her.

"I think I'm in love." Bobbie said dreamily wrapping her arms around herself in a quick hug.

"Bobbie, I'm pretty sure that this is like the 33rd time you have been 'in love' and that's just this week." Nyota remarked tightly as they all continued to watch the runner as he exited the stadium track for the cross country track.

"Too bad the eye candy is gone." Shirley lamented "I can only imagine how those long legs and that broad chest would look in my bed."

"Shouldn't you check with your teddy bear first before infringing upon Mr. Cuteness' bed space? Nyota replied somewhat heatedly.

Her three team mates all turned towards her at once, their eyes now wide open in surprise at the now quite obvious possessiveness in Nyota's tone.

"You DO have 'dibs' on him…I knew it!" Gaila said triumphantly.

"Who is he, Ny?" Bobbie asked quickly.

"And more importantly" Shirley said with a big grin "How come you've been keeping him a secret from us?"

"I have never seen this guy before today." Nyota defended "And I really don't have a clue as to who he is."

Nyota's impromptu but sincere confession was suddenly met by the stony and skeptical stares of her friends.

Her room mate's face quickly softened as she came to Nyota's rescue. "I believe you, Ny." She said sweetly. "Maybe we can figure out who he is when he comes back in to the stadium after he finishes the cross country course."

"Yeah, maybe." Bobbie replied still not convinced as to Nyota's honesty with respect to her already knowing the runner. "Shirl and I are going to go drag the hurdles out since it's our turn today." And with that said Shirley and Bobbie walked out of the tunnel towards the storage area under the bleachers.

Gaila quickly put her arm around Nyota's shoulder as they began walking "Something happened between you and our mystery running man didn't it?"

Gaila had been Nyota's room mate for a year and could read Nyota like a book by now, much to Nyota's chagrin.

Nyota let out a sigh she didn't realize she had been holding. "No, nothing happened." She replied quietly.

"Roomie, give it up." Gaila demanded as she and Nyota began to walk out of the tunnel together. "I know you well enough to know that you don't act defensive and or possessive about any male unless you know **and** like them."

"I'm serious, Gaila." Nyota replied turning her head to lock eyes with her. "This is the first time that I have ever seen this guy."

"Then your reaction to him is most interesting." Gaila replied as Nyota returned her gaze to the track in front of them "On my planet we would call this 'lusting'. But here on Earth I have researched that such a reaction at meeting someone for the first time is called 'love at first sight'."

Nyota stopped dead in her tracks at Gaila's words realizing that Gaila had suddenly struck a nerve within her. "I really can't explain my reaction to this guy." She began, her mind now fumbling to search out her emotions in past relationships upon first meeting her boyfriends. She quickly came to the conclusion that her reaction to the mystery runner was indeed very much different from any of her previous first meetings and she was still totally clueless as to explain why. "Yes, I was immediately attracted to him physically but it seems that there is something more to it than just that."

"I once read that your heart leads your head, roomie." Gaila informed her hugging her to her gently.

"Oh yeah?" Nyota inquired now curious as to how her passionate, uncontrollable roommate had suddenly just become the 'love guru'.

"Yeah." Gaila replied with a giggle releasing Nyota from the hug. "Dear Abby said that once, so therefore it **must** be true.

Nyota cracked a smile. She could always count on Gaila to make her laugh. They both began laughing in earnest as they walked up to Shirley and Bobbie.

"Now what's so funny?" Bobbie called out as she was setting the last hurdle up.

"Did you know that Gaila here is now a full fledged 'love' counselor?" Nyota joked.

"Now that **is** funny." Shirley replied. "When are your office hours, Doctor Love? I need to make an appointment and fast!"

Gaila beamed at her and Nyota knew for sure that Gaila would be somewhat unbearable for the next few days given her new title.

"Let's start warming up ladies." Nyota called out to them leading them over to the inside of the track and onto the turf.

The group spent the next 10 minutes stretching both themselves and each other. Bobbie had strained a muscle during yesterday's practice so Nyota was even more insistent that they stretch out properly today before practice. Running the hurdles was a tough event and injuries were quite common.

"Shirley goes first today." Nyota said, finally satisfied with everyone's limberness. "Remember half speed only. We are working on form right now."

Shirley obediently walked to the starting line and waited for Nyota's signal. Nyota quickly raised and then lowered her arm as Shirley sprinted away from the starting line heading for the first hurdle. After successfully navigating over the last hurdle and past their practice finish line, Shirley flashed a huge grin.

"Very nice, Shirl." Nyota said with a bright smile. "Bobbie's next."

The temperature was still quite cold, but the rain had stopped and the sun had started to peek out from the clouds after about 10 minutes of practicing their form running the hurdles.

"Now let's try some kicking up the speed on this round." Nyota instructed quite happy with how their practice was going so far.

"It's getting warmer." Bobbie commented unzipping the top of her warm up suit and removing it. "I need to lose some clothes." She walked over and leaned against the bleacher wall for balance as she began to remove her warm up pants. Shirley and Gaila followed her and also began to take off their warm up suits.

"I'll going to have another run before I strip." Nyota decided as she quickly walked over to the starting line. She sprinted off the starting line as the imaginary starting gun went off in her head. She felt powerful and well paced as she easily jumped the hurdles one by one; following up with a quick sprint passed their practice finish line.

"Nice one, roomie!" Gaila called out to her as Nyota circled back towards her team.

"Hey girls!" Shirley called out excitedly pointing across the track. "He's back!"

Nyota had just walked up to her team and she quickly followed Shirley's pointing finger turning her head back around to take a look across the track. She suddenly felt her heart rate increase. It **was** him.

"No it's not." Bobbie countered looking down at her cron. "I had checked the time when Shirl and I pulled the hurdles out." She continued confidently "There is no way that that guy completed the long course so quickly. It's only been 23 minutes."

"Maybe he doubled back." Shirley countered.

"Then he wouldn't be on **that** side of the track." Gaila replied "Believe me, if he had walked past us I **would** have noticed him."

"So **maybe** it's not him." Bobbie suggested again.

"Or maybe he's just that fast!" Shirley contended "We all saw that how fast he was on the stadium track."

As Nyota looked at the runner in question two other runners suddenly sprinted past him. She noticed that he appeared almost surprised at the near miss and he immediately began to jog off the track heading for the bleachers. "It's him." She said quietly, almost breathlessly.

Her team mates turned towards her in unison somewhat surprised at her softly spoken words.

Gaila then clapped her hands together in glee. "Ny, so here is your big chance to go over and introduce yourself."

Nyota looked over at Gaila her eyes actually showing the fear she suddenly felt. "No!" she replied quickly.

"But first you need to take off your warm up suit so he can get a good look at that cute body of yours, roomie." Gaila continued unperturbed by Nyota's sudden outburst of denial.

"Gaila, no!" Nyota repeated more fiercely this time. "We are here to practice, not to pick up strange men."

"But he's not strange." Gaila defended with a logic only Gaila could understand "We have all seem him before."

"Yeah, like 23 minutes ago." Bobbie reminded them.

Nyota found herself now sweating inside her warm up suit. She quickly blamed it on her last fast paced hurdle run, but in the back of mind she knew that she was really sweating because she was now actually nervous at seeing her mystery runner again. Pushing that feeling deep down within her, she suddenly turned around and began removing her warm up suit. "Come on." She said forcefully with a determination that she now had to fake. "We've only got 45 minutes left to practice full runs, now let's get to it."

Surprisingly her team mates followed her over to the starting line without argument. But Nyota knew that her team mates were sharing some silent signals between themselves no doubt about her. Shirley immediately stepped up to the line ready to run. Nyota signaled her to start and she immediately sprinted off the line. Nyota then spared a glance across the track and found her mystery runner now seated half way up in the bleachers. Even from that distance, Nyota had the distinct feeling that he was watching her. She suddenly felt herself growing warm again.

Bobbie then stepped up to the starting line and Nyota signaled her to begin. As Bobbie sprinted away, Nyota again looked over across the track. She noticed that her mystery runner now had his head turned downward, his body now quite rigid. Perhaps he was just tired and trying to relax. She found herself hoping that nothing was actually wrong with him, surprised at herself for her sudden concern over what for all practical accounts was a total stranger.

"Ny, you're looking at him again, aren't you." Gaila asked quietly bumping her shoulder with hers.

"Of course not." Nyota lied in reply to which Gaila then poked her in the arm. "OK, OK!" Nyota confessed quickly "Yes, I am."

Gaila let out a squeal and happily walked up to the starting line awaiting Nyota's signal. As Gaila sprinted away Nyota looked across the track again and noticed that her mystery runner was still in the same position. He looked almost like he was meditating now.

It was now Nyota's turn to run as her position as anchor for her team. She took a deep calming breath as she imagined the starting gun going off in her head. She knew that this particular run was one of her better runs of the day as she heard her team mates start to cheer her on. Irrationally, she found herself hoping that her mystery runner was watching her too. After she passed the finish line she shot a quick glance across the track to look at him. She suddenly felt another burst of heat rise up her spine as she tried to focus on his face. But the distance separating them was such that she could barely discern his face at all. But in the very brief glance, she felt more than actually saw that his dark eyes were indeed trained upon her. She closed her eyes briefly trying to clear her mind. She really needed to focus on the hurdles and not this guy. She blew out a quick breath determined to not look across the track again during practice.

After almost 30 minutes of taking turns running the hurdles, Nyota finally convinced herself to steal another glance towards the other side of the track and suddenly found that her mystery runner was now nowhere to be seen. Gaila had noticed too as she walked up to stand beside Nyota and she quickly put her arms around Nyota hugging her gently in support.

"He hasn't been gone long. You still have time Ny." Gaila insisted "Just go sit outside the mens dressing room door and wait for him to come out. It's that easy."

"Absolutely not!" Nyota replied firmly, actually crossing her arms over her chest in defiance as Gaila dropped her arms from around her.

"Then let me go and I'll find out who he is and get his com number for you." Gaila insisted pleading with Nyota. "He may be just a visitor to the campus and once he's gone it may be impossible to find him again. Then you would never get the chance to ever meet your true love."

"Have you been reading romance novels under the covers late at night again?" Nyota asked trying her best to be mad and not embarrassed at Gaila calling the mystery runner her 'true love'.

"OK, maybe just a few" Gaila began "But Ny you really can't just let him go like that." She practically begged reaching out to grab her by the shoulders and squeezing her affectionately. "I've never seen you act like this before. You are definitely **serious **about this guy and I want to make sure that you have at least the chance to meet him, that's all."

"Gaila" Nyota said quietly reaching out and giving Gaila a huge hug. "I appreciate what you are trying to do for me, I really do. But if it's meant to be then I have no doubt that I will encounter this mystery runner again in the future. I believe in fate, Gaila."

"Well I believe that fate sometimes needs a little bump in the right direction." Gaila replied bumping her shoulder into Nyota affectionately. "But always remember that Dr. Love here **likes** Terran weddings, **especially** when she's a bridesmaid." Gaila replied proudly, a huge smile now lighting up her face.

Nyota hugged her one more time affectionately and then smiled broadly back at her. "I wouldn't dream of getting married without you, Dr. Love." She replied, both of them now giggling.

"You are my best and dearest friend, Ny." Gaila began grabbing onto Nyota's shoulders firmly, tears suddenly appearing in her eyes as her voice became quite serious. "I can only hope that you will find someone who is deserving of your intellect, your dreams, and your loving personality."

Nyota's heart tightened in her chest suddenly at Gaila's words and she reached out to pull Gaila into a fierce hug, tears starting to well up in her own eyes as she continued to hug her.

"And yeah" Gaila sniffled into Nyota's hair. "it wouldn't hurt much if your dream man had a drop dead gorgeous body either!"

They both soon began to laugh in between their sniffles.

Gaila then pulled away from Nyota with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But in the meantime, there's a sale on vibrators down at 'Good Vibrations' today, and you and I are going to catch the hover bus down there this afternoon after classes." Gaila suddenly declared wagging her finger at Nyota as they both began to giggle. "And **that's** an order from Dr. Love!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Paramount and whoever else has current legal ownership of all things Star Trek at the moment. No infringement on any corporate, business, or individual's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit, just for enjoyment.**

**Chapter 3**

Nyota Uhura threw her pillow across her dorm room hitting the wall next to her bunk with a soft thud.

"Oh no!" Gaila exclaimed bringing her right hand up to cover her mouth in mock terror "You **know** that violence is not the solution, Cadet Uhura." She teased now curious as to what had gotten her normally cheerful roommate upset so early in the day.

"One day!" Nyota began in a huff leaning over to pick up her discarded pillow and then standing up and grabbing it in an exaggerated choke hold. "**One day** before classes start I get a message from my advisor saying that I have been dropped from my Advanced Vulcan class." Having now finished choking her pillow, she then immediately flung the offending object on to her bed so hard that her pillow actually bounced before coming to an ungraceful rest on the top of her comforter. "Do you know that I had to rearrange my entire schedule in order to take **that **class, and now I can't get back into another advanced language class because they are all full." She spat out balling her hands into tight fists. "Uuuugggg!" She groaned loudly plopping her body down beside her much abused pillow.

"Ny, calm down." Gaila advised walking over to Uhura's bed and sitting down on it beside her as she wrapped her arms gently around Nyota offering her comfort. "You know a spot will open up for you during drop and add. Cadets are always dropping classes at the beginning of the term."

"That's true for general classes, but not that way for the advance language classes." Nyota countered. "I am so screwed."

"Not being too nosey here, but why did you get bumped from the class?" Gaila asked hugging Ny gently again.

"Because and I quote, 'The course instructor will not go against Academy policy with regards to seniority' unquote." Nyota exclaimed in anger. "It seems that a senior level cadet requested the course at the last minute because of a scheduling conflict in their own classes, effectively bumping me out of **my** class. You would have thought that the instructor would have just taken the time to look at my academic file to see that I am **more** qualified than most senior levels to take this class before he dropped me. And qualifications aside, the class only has 30 students in it for crying out loud. So what's one more? I really believe the instructor is just being a hard ass about this."

"My advisor then told me that the instructor has just begun teaching at the Academy, the summer sessions being the first ones that he had taught. Then she also informed me that the instructor is both a distinguished graduate of the Academy as well as a field decorated officer and as a result she is hesitant to approach him about my situation."

"So what's this instructor's name?" Gaila asked quietly tilting her head in curiosity.

"Commander Spock." Nyota answered quietly.

Gaila immediately released Nyota from her grasp. "Oh no!" Gaila said standing up with a panicked look on her face. "**That's **the instructor that Cory Henkins had for an advanced computer class during the summer." Gaila quickly informed her in a nervous tone as she immediately began pacing the floor. "And you know how smart Cory is, right?" Gaila asked turning to lock eyes with her. Nyota immediately nodded her head silently requesting that Gaila continue. "Well Commander Spock not only **failed** Cory, but most of the rest of the class along with him!"

Nyota's eyes widened. Cory **was **exceptionally intelligent, especially when it came to computer programming.

"You're better off not being in his class, Ny." Gaila continued as she turned to look at Nyota actual fear now showing in her eyes. "And unfortunately for me Commander Spock will probably be the one teaching that same advanced programming course that I desperately need as a core class next semester. So now I guess that means that I am doomed to fail like Cory did."

Nyota knew that Gaila was every bit as smart as Cory was when it came to computer programming, and she also knew that Gaila's personality traits of persistence, resourcefulness, and adaptability had Cory beat hands down.

Suddenly Nyota's schedule problem became small in the face of Gaila's newfound fears. "Don't worry Gaila. By the time the next semester rolls around your advance programming course will probably be taught by someone else." She offered up to her roommate. "And in the meantime maybe the Commander will loosen up a bit after the summer sessions. I've been told by my advisor that it is common for first time instructors to be too hard on cadets in the beginning because they are either trying to prove their superiority or boost their own egos."

Gaila's eyes opened even wider. "You don't understand, Ny." She exclaimed breathlessly. "Cory told me that Commander Spock is a **Vulcan**!"

Nyota had only ever met two Vulcans and their personalities had seemed most rigid when it came to the enforcement of rules and standards, so Gaila's concerns did on the surface appear to be valid. But she also knew now that she had been dropped from a Vulcan class **by** a Vulcan, and she couldn't help but feel angry about her own situation all over again. Nyota was very proud of the fact that she spoke Vulcan as well as most native speakers. The fact that she had already tested out of two levels of Vulcan classes at the Academy had proven that without a doubt. She definitely had a bone to pick with this Commander now. "That's it!" Nyota exclaimed "I am going to request that my advisor set up a conference with Commander Spock." She replied standing up from the bed.

"Ny, don't!" Gaila warned walking swiftly over to where she stood, grabbing both of Nyota's hands in hers. "Do not do this! You know that Vulcans don't like have their authority or decisions questioned!"

"Well then the Commander shouldn't have agreed to become an instructor." Nyota replied with a confidence she didn't really feel. "Being questioned by students sort of goes with an instructor's territory, now doesn't it?"

Nyota spent the rest of the morning in restless repose on her bed staring at her PADD while she waited on word back from her advisor or from the other language instructors about her gaining acceptance into their classes. Nyota was wound up too tight to take a nap right now. And besides, the last five nights had been filled with erotic dreams about her mystery runner and she wasn't about to let Gaila hear her talk in her sleep about this guy again. Gaila had already begun to tease her about her 'dream man'.

So she steadily ignored Gaila's attempts to brighten her current outlook on life and then stubbornly refused to go to lunch with Gaila. Nyota didn't want her sour mood to dampen her roommate's lunch with Gaila's self proclaimed 'harem' of male cadets that usually had lunch with her.

Nyota's PADD suddenly chimed with a reminder that she had a meeting scheduled with the physical activities director for a local school for disabled children located just outside the downtown area of San Francisco. Now that her first year was behind her and she had mastered her time management enough to actually have a little free time, Nyota had promised herself that she would begin volunteer work with children again. Such work had been a passion of hers since she had been 12 years old. Nyota's current 2nd year schedule had allowed her one day a week to volunteer. But now with her schedule change, she could only hope that her one spare day to do volunteer work was still available to her. She knew that this particular school was on the list to receive funds from the Academy's fund raiser this year. Nyota definitely wanted to visit the school ahead of the fundraiser. Knowing where her team's hard work fund raising was going was important to her. She turned off her PADD and quickly took a shower and dressed in preparation for her meeting.

An hour and a half later, Lisa Bannick, the PA Director as well as co-owner of the 'The Highest Level' school for disabled children, greeted Nyota warmly as she walked inside of the front doors of the school.

"Cadet Uhura" she spoke cheerfully "thank you so much for agreeing to volunteer for our children." she said shaking Nyota's hand vigorously "Your resume was most impressive young lady!" she continued taking Nyota's elbow and leading her down the main hallway of the school. "I am so excited about the dance program that you have developed for children with disabilities. I see a great potential here at our School for such a fun and therapeutic activity."

Nyota was both happy and proud that Mrs. Bannick had done research on her background as well as her qualifications to volunteer at the school. "Thank you so much for your kind words, Mrs. Bannick." She replied with a huge smile. "I amlooking forward to helping out here with the kids at The Highest Level."

Mrs. Bannick immediately steered Nyota into a large room with mirrors and hand rails along three of the walls. There were 6 girls and two women seated on the floor in a circle in the room and they all turned their heads in unison when Nyota and Mrs. Bannick entered the room.

"Ladies" Mrs. Bannick began "**This** is Ms. Uhura. She is a Star Fleet cadet as well as our newest volunteer here at our school. And she has some really great dance activities planned for us this semester."

The group stood up and walked over to the two of them. Nyota had noticed that the two women had helped four of the girls stand up. Nyota quickly analyzed the girls' various physical disabilities and began to formulate a therapy plan for them. She estimated the girls to range in age from 8 to 10 years old. The girls as well as the women had huge smiles on their faces as they began crowding around her and Mrs. Bannick.

"I'm Amy." One little girl burst forth grabbing Nyota with only one arm, the other arm lying motionless at her side. "This is Gabby, Abigail, Mary, Tina, and Jamie." She said excitedly as the girls took turns hugging Nyota. "And our teachers, Mrs. J and Ms. T." The women each took Nyota's hand and shook hands warmly with her.

"Amy here is our unofficial spokesperson." Mrs. Bannick confirmed placing her hand on Amy's shoulder and gently squeezing it as Amy looked up and smiled broadly.

"I thought I was the **official** spokesperson." Amy countered still smiling.

"I stand corrected." Mrs. Bannick replied with a chuckle.

Mary and Abigail quickly began signing to Nyota using Standard sign language informing Nyota that Mrs. Bannick had be correct the first time at which Nyota began to giggle as she watched and understood the animated but silent conversation. She noticed that Amy frowned at both Mary and Abigail obviously also understanding their silent conversation. Despite her obvious disabilities Amy's self confidence and outgoing nature had already impressed Nyota

"I am very pleased to meet you all." Nyota said slightly bowing her head in respect as well as quickly signing out her words as she spoke them. "I am very excited to bring my dance exercise routines into the school for all of you to enjoy."

And so with Mrs. Bannick's approving nod, Nyota quickly pulled off her sweater and immediately got to work getting the girls set up so as to begin their first dance lesson together.

Spock walked slowly down the hallway. After the past five nights of vivid, as well as very sensual dreams about the beautiful hurdler, he was still feeling a little unsettled and off center. Vulcans rarely dreamed because their sleep patterns usually have very little REM sleep within them, so Spock normally found himself dreamless. But after the first night of erotic dreams, it had quickly become apparent to him that the chance meeting with the beautiful woman at the track field had definitely caused a change in his sleep patterns. And now it seemed that no amount of meditation was able to remove his thoughts about this woman from his mind.

Suddenly one of his students walked out of a passing hallway to join him, the student's slight limp not affecting his ability to keep up with Spock's brisk pace.

"Commander Spock." Davey formally addressed him following his respectful words up with a huge smile.

"Mr. Hanson." Spock quickly replied back to him with a small nod. "You are quite early for our class today."

"Yes, sir." Davey replied with a smile on his face. "I always look forward to your classes, so I always try to be early." He explained looking sideways at him in order to better gauge Spock's mood.

Davey had been his student before he left to serve with Captain Pike. He was a 11 year old human male with wavy red hair and lots and lots of freckles. He was by nature extremely friendly, helpful, and very curious. "Your predilection for arriving early to my class is a very admirable trait of yours." Spock replied with a twinkle in his eyes knowing that Davey enjoyed their verbal 'joisting'.

Looking at Davey's smiling face Spock was suddenly reminded of the history of their relationship. Davey had been severely injured in a transport accident over four years ago, and had suffered extensive brain damage as a result. His prognosis for recovery had been quite grim at the time. Spock's mother had done volunteer work for the school when she was in college and had become good friends with the young co-owners of the school. At the time of Davey's accident Mrs. Bannick had contacted Amanda for assistance in securing help for Davey knowing that Vulcan healers had helped others with such injuries in the past by using mind melding techniques. Amanda had immediately referred her to T'Maire a Vulcan healer who had also served as a diplomatic medical advisor to Earth in the past. T'Maire had agreed at the time to come back to Earth in order to help with Davey's rehabilitation.

Spock had been following in his mother's footsteps doing volunteer work at the school since his first year as a cadet, so when T'Maire arrived from Vulcan Amanda had made sure that Spock was there to assist her. T'Maire was not quite as old as Spock's paternal grandmother and was still quite able bodied for her age. Over the next few months Spock and T'Maire struck up what was the Vulcan equivalent of both a friendship and mentorship as they assisted in Davey's recovery.

In the time that he worked with T'Maire, Spock learned much about the ancient methods of Vulcan healing from her. And even though she was well respected within the Vulcan community, T'Maire was somewhat atypical for a Vulcan with respect to her enjoyment of humor. And she was particularly found of humans because of human's innate ability to find humor in almost any situation even at their own expense. So in addition to learning advance mind melding and healing trance techniques, Spock had also learned to understand the basics of humor.

T'Maire had on more than one occasion suggested that when Spock grew tired of exploring space, he should serve as a healer. She had told him quite firmly that the natural gifts for healing that he had within his katra should not go unshared or unused. And even though he could not yet conceive of a life which did not revolve around space travel, Spock remembered that he had been quite pleased with her words of praise at the time.

Suddenly breaking out of reverie, Spock heard a strangely familiar woman's voice filtering into the hallway and immediately stopped mid-stride to listen. Davey stopped walking also and looked over at Spock in confusion. Spock then turned and walked swiftly towards a nearby door in an effort to locate the source of the voice. Spock suddenly found himself on the brink of losing control of his emotions as he looked through the window of the door. There within the school's dance and exercise room was the woman of his dreams: the hurdler from the track field.

'_I believe most strongly that it is somehow fated that you two will meet again._' His mother's words suddenly came back to him. Spock immediately felt his heart rate increase two fold as he continued to peer into the window now quite unable to look away. He found it surprising that he was so distracted that he could not even calculate the odds of her being here at the school now with him.

Davey quickly moved around him to the other side of the window and he looked inside the dance and exercise room as well. "Gosh, she's pretty!" Davey exclaimed looking over at Spock. "So what's her name?"

Spock suddenly tore his eyes away from the woman to stare at Davey. His sudden possessiveness of the woman made him almost angry at Davey for calling her 'pretty'. He quickly gained control of himself once again. "I do not know her name." he stated simply turning back to the window once again.

Davey did not miss the look in Spock's eyes however. "So you don't know her name, huh?" Davey commented slyly. He thought of Spock as his big brother so he was definitely not above teasing him any chance he got. It was his duty as a little brother after all. "You sure could have fooled me. I thought for a second there you were going to punch me for calling her 'pretty'." He added also turning back to look through the window again.

Spock understood that Davey was now taunting him over his reaction, but he was now quite unwilling to divert either his attention or his eyes away from the woman as she taught the girls dance techniques. As he continued to watch the dance lesson, Spock noticed that the woman was mindful of the disabilities of her students without drawing undue attention to them as she creating choreographed dance routines for the girls. And her students appeared to be most responsive to her teaching methods as a result. Spock heard the woman's laughter as she interacted with the girls. Her laughter contained within it almost a musical quality. He could now hear the girls laughing with her also.

Mr. Bannick quietly walked up to stand next to Davey angling his head so he could look inside the window too. "Something must sure be interesting in here to get you two to stop long enough to look inside." He said cheerfully putting an arm around Davey's shoulders and hugging him gently.

Spock immediately straightened up, feeling his face now growing flushed in embarrassment. "Mr. Bannick, sir." Spock began. "Mr. Hanson and I were just on our way to class."

Davey looked over at Spock and smiled. "Yes sir, we were." Davey replied with a huge smile turning away from the window with Spock as they both began to walk down the hallway again.

Mr. Bannick was both old and wise and immediately knew what was going on as he continued to watch the young woman teach the dance class completely unaware that her obviously most appreciative audience was now leaving. "Why of course, gentlemen." He replied with a chuckle turning away from the window and joining them as they continued their walk down the hallway. In the years he had known Spock he had never once seen him even remotely 'interested' in a female.

Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "I know that Mrs. Bannick is going to ask that nice young lady who, by the way, is our newest volunteer, to have lunch with her today." Mr. Bannick offered up nonchalantly "So if you two are free for lunch you might want to join them. It would be a nice way to welcome her to our school."

Davey glanced over to Mr. Bannick who then gave him a conspiratorial wink. "That sounds great, doesn't it Commander?" Davey cheerfully asked, now understanding what Mr. Bannick was attempting to do.

"Yes, Mr. Hanson." Spock replied with an exterior calmness that was completely the opposite of what he felt inside. "It does indeed."

Mr. Bannick took his leave from them as they walked into a small classroom. As part of his volunteer duties at the school Spock was currently teaching a class on meditation techniques. The older children had been most grateful to learn such techniques from him. He was teaching them how to control the body with the mind and he was most satisfied with the results thus far. His student's quality of life had improved because of his teachings. Serving the needs of his students had been most fulfilling to him.

During today's class however Spock found himself somewhat distracted by thoughts about what would happen when he met his mystery woman during the lunch break. And during the actual meditation part of the class, he realized that he could no longer concentrate at all. He was now considering forgoing lunch altogether, most concerned that his preoccupation with the woman would somehow lead him into an emotionally uncomfortable position upon meeting her.

Just as he was dismissing his class, Mr. Bannick walked into his classroom 'high fiving' and hugging all of his students as they left for lunch.

Mr. Bannick shared an elaborate and complicated handshake with Davey. "Come on let's go." He said finishing the handshake with a flourish. "I'm starving!"

"Yeah!" Davey echoed. "Today is Sloppy Joe day!" he blurted out obviously quite thrilled about the lunch menu for today. He then turned to look at Spock with remorse. "Sorry Sloppy Joes are not on your diet Commander, but I bet Sally will grill some of her special tofu for you, sir."

"That would be most appreciated." Spock replied suddenly looking down at the floor and not meeting their eyes. "However I will be unable to join you for lunch today."

Mr. Bannick looked over at Spock curiously. He had never known the young Vulcan to turn down Sally's cooking in the past. He noticed immediately that Spock was also refusing to look at them. Something was definitely going on here, and Mr. Bannick was willing to bet 100 credits that Spock's hesitance to go eat lunch with them had something to do with the new volunteer. He was beginning to regret teasing him about her earlier.

"P-L-E-A-S-E Commander!" Davey practically begged. "You can't break our lunch tradition, can you?"

Spock's eyes immediately snapped up to hold Davey's pleading gaze firmly. Traditions were most important to Spock and he quickly relented. "You are correct Mr. Hanson. I cannot willfully break our tradition.

"Good!" Davey's smile was electric as he walked over to the door holding it open for both Mr. Bannick and Spock. "Age before beauty, sirs!" he teased with a chuckle.

Mr. Bannick playfully thumped him gently in the shoulder as he walked past Davey. "Be careful young man." He teased him. "Wouldn't want all that 'beauty' of yours to go to your head, now would we?"

"Of course not, sir." Davey replied cheerfully as the three of them slowly walked down the hall towards the cafeteria.

When they entered the cafeteria, Spock immediately began scanning the room. As they walked up to the serving line he looked ahead of them in the serving line and suddenly found the person he had been searching for. The woman was patiently helping four of her students with their lunches, reaching out for them to help gather plates and bowls onto their trays as they slowly moved down the serving line.

Spock was momentarily distracted when Sally the head chef waved and flashed Spock a 'thumbs up' to indicate that she would prepare him his usual grilled tofu salad. Spock bowed his head in silent thanks to her. Sally was his mother's age and had 'adopted' Spock when he first came to volunteer at the school. She was always concerned that he was too thin and she had told him on more than one occasion that growing 'boys' needed nourishment to stay healthy. So Sally had always seen to it that he was fed well while working at the School. Spock had always been grateful to have Sally's lunches as a cadet given that the Star Fleet Academy on-campus food was definitely not geared towards vegan needs.

Spock stole a sideways glance back to the woman who was now leaving the line holding both her tray as well as another tray; presumably one of her student's. Her group then walked over and sat down at one of the larger tables. He noticed that Mrs. Bannick had joined them at the table now. Having gotten his salad, Spock politely thanked Sally and then followed Davey and Mr. Bannick over to their table. Mr. Bannick and Davey then insisted that Spock sit between them which he noticed put him directly across the table from 'his' woman. He was now being 'set up' and he knew it, but he chose to, in Davey's words, 'go with the flow' for the moment. Spock took a deep breath as he pulled out his chair quietly. Suddenly he could hear the woman's voice as she spoke to Mrs. Bannick.

"….so I am not at all sure what day I will be available to volunteer until my scheduled is corrected." She stated somberly as if concluding a long explanation.

Spock glanced up to look at her. She had her head turned to the side no doubt awaiting a response from Mrs. Bannick. Spock marveled at her profile and in particular her long elegant neck and graceful cheekbones. He quickly forced himself to look away from her when he felt his self control begin to unravel.

"Mr. Bannick and I have many contacts at the Academy." Mrs. Bannick replied patting her arm tenderly. "Perhaps we could help."

"Help with what in particular?" Mr. Bannick asked curiously, launching headlong into their conversation.

"It seems that our little lady here is having a scheduling problem now because she has been dropped from a class one day before classes are to begin." Mrs. Bannick explained.

"I do know many of the course instructors at the Academy." Mr. Bannick offered "What is the instructor's name and I will see if I know him or her so perhaps I can intercede in your behalf. Mrs. Bannick says you are already a real miracle worker here at our school and we certainly don't want to lose you, Ms. Uhura."

Upon hearing her name, Spock's heart rate suddenly increased by 38.8%. He now knew exactly what their previous conversation had been about. He stoically stared at his salad waiting for the inevitable to occur.

"I really do appreciate the offer of help, but I would prefer to try to resolve my scheduling issue with Commander Spock on my own." She replied politely to Mr. Bannick.

Spock tilted his head up upon hearing his name and immediately saw that all the occupants of the table had quickly turned to stare at him, an unnatural silence suddenly falling upon the table.

"Well, **this** certainly **is** an awkward moment!" Davey quickly blurted out after less than a second of silence, a huge grin lighting up his face. "Looks like you know her name **now**, Commander Spock!"

"Davey Hanson!" Mrs. Bannick fussed and Davey merely shrugged his shoulders in feigned innocence.

Nyota couldn't help but notice that everyone at the table had turned to stare at the man now sitting directly in front of her. She had been so involved in her conversation with Mrs. Bannick that she had not really paid close attention to him when he sat down at the table just moments ago. Nyota suddenly felt her heart rate double as her eyes rose from the table to stare into his dark, soulful brown eyes as he locked eyes with her with those same eyes that she had looked deeply into at the track field just six days ago. So many emotions passed through her within the next few seconds that she was temporarily rendered speechless. Suddenly she realized that her dream come true had just turned into somewhat of a nightmare. She had finally met her mystery runner only to find out that he was not only an instructor **and **a commanding officer but her current antagonist as well. Davey was right: this was indeed a very awkward moment.

Spock willed his ever increasing heart rate to decrease as he locked eyes with Cadet Uhura. He knew that he had resolved her scheduling situation just prior to leaving his office for The Highest Level. But she apparently had not checked her coms in the last several hours, no doubt because she was here at the school teaching. He suddenly had to struggle in order not to show the emotions he felt at the moment as he continued to look into her beautiful mahogany eyes. He had finally gotten to meet the woman of his dreams only to find out that she was not only a student **and** a subordinate, but that he had also inadvertently caused her a great deal of concern and obvious stress by dropping her from his class even though he was just following the rules of seniority. Mr. Hanson had been correct: this certainly was an awkward situation.

He mentally steadied himself as he began to explain the current situation to her. "Ms Uhura, you will find a communication in your inbox that I sent to you earlier today redacting my decision to drop you from my Advance Vulcan class. One of the senior cadets enrolled in this class was accepted into an internship just this morning and her acceptance resulted in her formally withdrawing from my class. Her withdrawal created a vacancy and I was thus able to reinstate you into my Advance Vulcan class." He paused noticing the confused look in her eyes. "That is, if it is still your desire to do so." He was now offering her a graceful way out if she needed one.

"See there, problem solved." Mr. Bannick interjected cheerfully taking a huge bite of his Sloppy Joe sandwich.

"Yes **sir**, it is still my desire to enroll in your class." Nyota quietly replied finally finding her voice.

Mrs. Bannick looked over at Spock a silent question in her eyes for him.

He found it sometimes very hard to read visual cues from humans, but there was no mistaking the look in Mrs. Bannick's eyes at the moment. "It is settled then. You are now enrolled in my Advanced Vulcan class." Spock replied to her formally, then lowering his voice slightly. "But I must remind you however that I am not a **sir** here at The Highest Level…I am just **Spock**." He replied bowing his head slightly to Nyota. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Mrs. Bannick was now smiling and nodding at him in approval.

"Thank you, **Spock**." Nyota replied with a small smile.

"So now we really do have you as our dance instructor! Wooo hooo!" Amy cried out happily, pulling Nyota into a hug which Nyota was quick to return. It was quite obvious to everyone that Amy had already bonded with Nyota.

"Yes you do, Amy." Nyota replied as she continued to hug Amy but turning her head slightly in order to gaze once again back at Spock. She then smiled broadly at him, her happiness with the resolution of her scheduling situation being quite evident.

Upon seeing her brilliant smile Spock felt himself grow unnaturally warm. He somehow knew instinctively that her smile to him was meant to be a form of silent communication and Spock quickly bowed his head to her as a response, hoping that such a behavior was acceptable to her. She quickly nodded back at him then turned back to face Amy giving the girl a quick 'high five'.

As she had smiled at him, Spock was once again reminded that she was indeed the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. As he continued to watch Uhura interact with Amy he could feel his body's hormones began to take control of his brain. He definitely needed something to distract him right now and prevent him from outwardly displaying just how strong of an effect Cadet Uhura was having upon him. He was suddenly reminded of his mother's words of caution and knew that he must ensure that his conduct towards her would continue to remain respectful and proper. He quickly looked down at his plate and began to eat his salad silently focusing all his attention now on his salad instead of the beautiful woman now seated less than one meter from him.

Nyota had turned back to her lunch again, but she couldn't help but watch Commander Spock out of the corner of her eye as he began to eat, noting just how handsome he was. His long eyelashes appeared to be at odds with his masculine jaw line and nose. And his jet black hair was combed into the typical Vulcan style that actually shined under the bright cafeteria lights. She quickly realized that he was much younger than she thought he would be, most likely only a few years older than herself. And just like her first time seeing him on the track she could now feel her traitorous body begin to respond to him on a very primal level. She immediately put the brakes on both her mind as well as her body realizing just how improper her reaction to him was now that she knew both who and what he was. She quickly looked down at her plate and began to eat her Sloppy Joe.

The rest of lunch passed by quickly with the inevitable small talk and some good natured teasing all around. All too soon lunch time was over and the kids and instructors began to stand up and put away their trays.

Davey quickly stood up and walked around the table taking Mrs. Bannick's tray from her and stacking it on top of his own. He then rolled his eyes at Spock and nodded silently towards Uhura behind her back, motioning him into action. Without a word, Spock quickly rose from his chair with his tray in hand and walked swiftly around the table reaching over to take Uhura's tray and placing it on top of his. He then pulled out her chair for her as she rose to stand. Davey immediately did the same for Mrs. Bannick.

Mrs. Bannick's eyes suddenly lit up and a huge smile filled her face. "Why thank you, gentlemen!" he teased.

"Always a pleasure!" Davey answered back cheerfully as he walked past Spock to the trash bins.

"Thank you." Nyota said quietly to Spock as she looked up into his face.

"You are most welcome." He replied softly, turning then to walk away from her and towards the trash bins.

Nyota had begun to help get her students ready to leave the cafeteria and there was suddenly a flurry of activity as chairs were pushed in and trays were put away. Spock turned and walked back to the table in order to help as did Davey.

As Spock began to help with clearing the table, Uhura couldn't help but notice that he was a head taller than her: Definitely Masai tall, his body lean and most obviously quite strong. Yes indeed, Vulcan strong. As he turned away from her bending down to help one of the girls with her foot brace, she noticed his well defined, and very taut gluts. She quickly cut her eyes away from his tempting derriere. She certainly didn't want to be caught ogling him.

Spock glanced over as Nyota was bending down to pick up Amy's small backpack that she had dropped. His eyes were immediately drawn to her backside. He quickly thought back to one of his former roommate's comment about the perfect woman having the perfect 'pear shaped' posterior. There was no doubt in Spock's mind now that this woman before him was indeed perfect. Spock quickly looked away from her hoping that no one had noticed that he was now looking at her inappropriately.

After everyone was ready to leave Mr. Bannick cheerfully began to speak. "Well then" turning to look at both Spock and Uhura "looks like we will see you two next Thursday."

Spock's eyebrows rose realizing that Mr. Bannick was referring to both he **and** Cadet Uhura. He suddenly felt something within him loosen. Being paired with her had not only seemed logical but quite natural to him now.

Nyota began to giggle. Mr. Bannick was so much like her own father that she found his not so subtle manipulations amusing. He was not so subtlety trying to match make between she and Spock and she realized that she didn't really mind at all. "I will be here next Thursday, Mr. and Mrs. Bannick." She replied with a smile "With bells on, no doubt."

Mrs. Bannick started laughing with her knowing just how pushy her husband of 46 years could be at times. "Don't worry Spock." She teased noting the expression on Spock's face. "We won't make you wear the bells…that is unless you want to!"

"I do not understand why I would wish to do so, Mrs. Bannick." Spock replied somewhat confused as to the meaning of the saying.

"My apologies for teasing you, Spock." Mrs. Bannick replied "But I'm sure that Ms. Uhura would be happy to explain the term to you on your way back to the Academy.

Quite obviously Mrs. Bannick was every bit as manipulating as Mr. Bannick was. Nyota was starting to feel right at home now. "I will do my best." Nyota teased back sparing a quick glance over at Spock who still had a confused look on his face.

"I will also return here next Thursday in order to teach my meditation class." Spock responded after a brief pause quickly glancing over at Uhura. "And I will accompany Ms. Uhura as she travels here if she so desires." He found himself adding unexpectedly; holding his breath as he waited for her reply.

"That would be most agreeable, Commander." Nyota replied formally, looking up at him and trying her best to remain professional and respectful.

Both Spock and Nyota heard several "awwwwws" in the background as they continued to hold each other's gaze.

As they approached the entrance to the cafeteria, Davey 'high fived' Spock. "Until next week, Commander." He told him with a huge smile.

A chorus of 'good-byes' sounded throughout the hallway as the rest of group turned left to go back to the classroom area of the building and Spock and Nyota turned right in order to leave the school and return to the Academy.

Spock began "I consider it my responsibility to accompany you back to the Academy grounds now, if that is agreeable to you. This area of town has been known to harbor individuals of ill repute." Spock explained quickly as they walked out of the school. "It is most wise for you not to travel in this area without protection." He realized that he was actually nervous about speaking with the Cadet now that they were alone. He knew however that his concerns were quite genuine and needed to be stated as such.

She turned to look up at him and suddenly reached out to touch him lightly on the arm. They both immediately came to a complete stop in the middle of the sidewalk as if suddenly glued to the spot. He was now offering her his protection. Her heart was suddenly in her throat. She immediately realized that her touch was not appropriate and quickly pulled her hand away from his arm.

"Your protection as well as your company would indeed be most appreciated." She found herself finally replying to him in perfect Vulcan as the spell between them finally broke and they continued walking.

"I am honored." He replied also in Vulcan while extending his left arm towards the hover bus station and they both turned towards turned in unison to walk towards the station. He was still somewhat dazed at her sudden touch. Upon hearing her perfect Vulcan, his mind was now reeling. He quickly clamped down on his emotions and urgently sought out a diversion for himself. "May I inquire as to how long you have been speaking Vulcan?" he asked hoping that her Vulcan language training would some how steer his thoughts back to a more logical and proper course.

"5.25 years now." She replied again in Vulcan as she glanced over at him, a small smile now growing on her face. She was suddenly quite happy about being able to converse with him in his native language. She had hoped that by speaking Vulcan she could forge a better connection with him.

"Indeed." He responded, his surprise at her answer barely contained. He knew that amount of time was an unusually short period of time to have learned the Vulcan language so thoroughly. "Your enunciation appears to be quite indistinguishable from that of a native speaker." He added in Vulcan sparing a quick glance in her direction. He suddenly couldn't help but feel somehow connected to her now.

"I am honored." She replied respectfully glancing over at him, quickly meeting his eyes.

"As am I." he responded sincerely as he watched her eyes sparkle with what he believed to be happiness as they continued to walk together towards the hover bus station, their strides as well as their minds naturally moving closer together as they walked and continued their conversation in Vulcan.


	4. Chapter 4

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Paramount and whoever else has current legal ownership of all things Star Trek at the moment. No infringement on any corporate, business, or individual's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit, just for enjoyment.**

**Author's Note: **

**Please forgive the length of this chapter, but the complexity of this part of the story significantly added to the words necessary to tell the tale.**

**Chapter 4**

Suddenly she was falling towards the tree tops. The zip line holding her and her fellow cadets had somehow snapped given the loud bang that was now echoing through the crisp mountain air past her. Surprisingly her downward fall seemed to be in slow motion now…seconds seemingly expanding into minutes as she fell. She knew the physics: in a fall from this height she would die by either hitting the jagged rocks below the tree line or by being impaled by one of the tall pine trees that she was falling towards.

She had heard stories of how your life was supposed to flash by you in the seconds before you die. But the only vision that passed before her eyes as she continued to fall was the face of a very concerned S'chn T'gai Spock. And so with her last few seconds of life her thoughts were only of him.

In the almost two years she had known him, he had been her teacher, devil's advocate when she needed one, colleague, mentor, advisor, and best friend. He was by far the most intelligent, kind, compassionate, trustworthy, loyal, brave, and genuine being she had ever met in her life. And no matter how she tried to deny it, she was without doubt head over heels in love with him. But the protocol and politics of their lives at the Academy left no space within it for anything more than a platonic relationship to exist between the two of them.

And at this moment in time as she was facing almost certain death she realized, unfortunately too late for her now, that true love trumps politics, career, **and** Star Fleet. So here at the end of her life she was now regretting that she had never told Spock that she had loved him.

She also regretted that she had talked herself into believing at the end of the spring semester that it would be 'better' for each of them if they went their separate ways from then on. She had become concerned when Spock made it quite clear to her just days before the end of the spring semester that he was Vulcan to the core when it came to relationships. He told her quite simply: 'Vulcans mate for life' one afternoon after classes as they were discussing their individual career goals and future plans after she graduated.

Upon hearing those words from him, Nyota Uhura, future star traveler and dedicated free spirit, was suddenly not at all certain she was ready for that type of relationship commitment once she earned her commission next May. Being in a bonded relationship with a Vulcan was still a huge unknown to her and if she was really honest with herself, the concept was just a little scary.

So she did what she had never ever done before when the going got tough: she ran away. She returned home to Africa for the summer break under the guise of visiting her family, giving up a very lucrative internship in the process as she tried her best to forget about Spock. But no matter how she willed herself to live her life without him, she realized that she could not. She finally had to admit to herself that during the years that they known each other, her life had somehow become inseparable from his. Being apart from him had made her feel as if half of her heart and soul was missing.

So she had finally worked up enough courage to face him and tell him her true feelings when she returned to the Academy after the summer break. But when she saw him again, her fears once more returned causing her to pull back emotionally from him again, treating him as if they were once again just instructor and student at this point and nothing more. She could tell that she was hurting him, but she kept telling herself that they were **both** better off this way. Star Fleet regs and Vulcan propriety kept him from questioning her as to the cause of the change in her behavior towards him. So within a week of her return, he had withdrawn completely away from her, speaking and interacting with her only when it was required or necessary. As the days passed, her forced separation from him was becoming unbearable, and she had begun to cry herself to sleep every night. Food soon lost its appeal to her and she began to struggle not to lose weight. She was borderline underweight as it was on Star Fleet's medical charts. She was becoming more and more distressed every day. And not even Gaila's wild pre-start of semester antics could make her smile again.

Just before impacting the tree line she finally allowed herself to put into a single word the emotions that she was now feeling.

"Spock!" she screamed half in fear and half in sadness hearing her own voice echo out through the forest. Then suddenly and quite unexpectedly she felt Spock's own fear and agony in her mind as her body hit the first tree branch.

It was Friday afternoon on the last day of the summer session, and Spock had been mindlessly writing code on his PADD as his students were finishing up their final exam for the computer programming class that he had taken over due to the incumbent instructor's acute illness and Spock's unfortunate low position on the staff seniority list. And just as he had been doing for the past 706 days, a part of his mind that was not required for his current task was focused entirely upon one Nyota Uhura.

She was by far the most beautiful, intelligent, kind, trustworthy, loyal, compassionate, brave, and curious being he had ever encountered. She was more logical and ordered in her patterns of thinking than most of the Vulcans that he had known. But her emotional side continued to be somewhat of a mystery to him. A fascinating mystery though. She had been his student, his TA and, at present, a very valued colleague. And most importantly she had become the closest being to him on a personal level outside of his own family. She was, in her own words, his best friend. She gave him balance and peace in his life.

Even though he was living on Earth, surrounded by primarily humans, Spock could not and would not give up his Vulcan principles with regards to his relationships. He had dissolved his betrothal bond to T'Pring 545 terran days ago because of the inherent incompatibility between them and within their bond. Spock knew that once he bonded, it would become a lifetime commitment to him. He believed firmly that when Vulcans mated, they mated for life. And when he had first gazed upon Nyota Uhura, he knew without a doubt that he wished to formally bond with her. But he of course would never risk jeopardizing her career in order to satisfy his emotional or physical needs. And so he patiently waited for her graduation when they would be free of the current restrictions that the Academy required that they maintain between them.

She had gone home to Africa five times since he had first met her 706 terran days ago, and she had always returned in better spirits than when she had left. Yes, he had missed her company in the past when she had left, but he was still able to carry on in her absence adequately. But when she left for Africa this summer, Spock actually felt a void open up within his katra with her departure. These new feelings of longing and desire for her had concerned him greatly. He had even spoken privately with his Godfather about his current state of mind with regard to his separation from Nyota. And after his talks with him, Spock had concluded that even though they were extremely uncomfortable to him, his feelings during her absence were somehow 'logical' for him to have.

But when she returned from Africa, Spock could immediately sense a difference in her. She immediately began to treat him as if their relationship was strictly a professional one. And suddenly his best friend was no longer even a friend. But his strict adherence to Vulcan privacy principles as well as Star Fleet regulations prohibited him from inquiring as to the reasons behind the change in her attitude towards him. So he relented, giving her the space and formality that she had requested. But he quickly realized that his policy of strategic withdrawal from her was having very detrimental effects on him. He now found himself unable to sleep or eat as a result.

And during this three week period of withdrawal from her, his determination with regards to asking her to bond with him was faltering. He now had serious doubts about her intentions towards him now. Perhaps during her trip to Africa she had met someone that she had fallen deeply in love with, or perhaps even reconnected with an old 'boyfriend'. And she now simply wanted rid of him. Just the thought of her giving herself to another made him burn with a rage that was a combination of desire, anger, and possession. He had never experienced such feelings before.

Suddenly a vision swam before his eyes and he immediately stopped typing, focusing his entire being upon this vision. He suddenly felt himself falling and could see the mountains above him and the trees and rocks below him. He then heard Nyota's voice screaming out his name into the crisp mountain air. The emotion within her cry for him sent a chill down his spine. He knew at that exact moment that she was falling to her death and this thought shook him to his very core. Never in his life had he experienced such strong emotions. He suddenly felt as if he were dying also.

He could now hear Cadet Parker who was the one of the TAs for the computer programming department calling out to him as if from a great distance.

"Commander Spock?" Parker's voice was now growing closer to him. "Commander, are you all right, sir?" He asked quietly, his voice now sounding quite concerned.

Slowly Spock's eyes began to focus on the screen of his PADD once more. He looked up to see Cadet Parker now standing only a few feet away from him worry clearly evident in his face.

"I am fine, Cadet." Spock slowly responded after finally finding his voice. He knew that he was however everything but 'fine' at the moment. Spock quickly looked up at the chronometer and realized that only 5 minutes of the class now remained. As much as he wanted to he could not leave his cadets during their final exam with only a TA to oversee their test taking. "But I must leave immediately after class is over. I will grade the final exams over the weekend and will post final grades by Monday. Please send out a com to the cadets informing them of this."

Cadet Parker nodded to him in response. "Yes, sir." He replied quickly turning to his PADD as he began typing quickly. "Already done, sir." He quietly replied to him.

The next 3 minutes and 39 seconds passed by incredibly slowly for Spock. Finally the buzzer sounded and the cadets began noisily packing up their PADDS and leaving the classroom as Cadet Parker turned back to him. "Are you sure that you are alright, sir?" Parker asked most seriously.

Spock realized that his hands were now trembling slightly and he fought to stabilize them as he packed up his PADDs into his backpack. "I assure you Cadet that **I** am well." He replied quietly trying to control his body. He then remembered that this was to be his last day with Cadet Parker as his TA. Suddenly Nyota's words filled his head. 'You need to show your TAs that you appreciate them. A few kind words and thanks aren't going to kill you, ya know.' "Mr. Parker you have performed admirably as my TA for this course. I wish to thank you for your assistance as well as your exemplary service to me during these past six weeks."

Parker's face lit up with a smile that almost seemed too wide for his face at Spock's words. "Thank you, sir." Parker replied quickly his smile fading slowly. "It has been an educating and enjoyable experience working for you these past six weeks, sir. And I hope that whatever is troubling you at the present time sir will be resolved quickly and to your satisfaction." He added sincerely.

Cadet Parker was a very hard working and apparently quite intuitive human. Spock resolved that he would write a letter of recommendation for Cadet Parker and send it to his supervisor next week.

"I wish that as well, Cadet." Spock responded with a nod as he finished packing up this PADD and then turned to leave the classroom his steps quickening as he approached the doorway.

Nyota felt the tree limbs actually yielding to her body and starting to slow her fall. She quickly opened her eyes and looked ahead of her and watched her team mates further down the zip line as the line continued to fall. The terrain below her team mates sloped downward and away from her current position. She could see the cadet ahead of her, Tucker Jones who was their squad's medic turn his head quickly to look up at her, his brown eyes now huge as saucers as he held on desperately to the rapidly loosening zip line. She knew that Cadet Travis had been behind her on the line, so the break must have occurred at the top of the descent. She suddenly had a plan. As she continued to fall through the branches, she ignored the pain in her body and reached up to grab the zip line cable in both of her hands, pulling it down with her. If she could some how secure the line to the tree she was falling through, then perhaps she would be able to slow down her team mates fall and hopefully save them from injury or death.

She struggled with the cable landing hard on her back onto a large branch almost knocking the wind out of her. But she was somehow able to hold onto the cable and roll her body along with the cable past the large branch as she continued to fall. Then she quickly pulled in her legs using her momentum as she continued to hold on to the cable to send her and the cable around the large branch a second time coming to a stop on top of the branch adjacent to the tree's trunk. She quickly wrapped the cable around the large trunk of the tree nearly falling as her arms reached around the large tree trunk. She quickly regained her balance and gripped the cable tightly. She then sat there straddling the branch, her body now tucked into the trunk of the tree waiting for the cable to pull back against her grip. Within a second renewed tension snapped the sagging cable taut again. She held on to the cable with all the strength her body could muster as the line continued to tighten, trying to pull itself out of her hands. As she desperately held on to the cable she glanced out through the tree's canopy to look downhill of her position hoping to see that her plan was working. She managed to catch sight of Tucker looking back over his shoulder at her, a wild grin now plastered across his face.

"You're doing it Ny, you're doing it!" Tucker was yelling back at her. "Just keep holding on! I'll yell back at you when you can let go!"

As she watched Tucker disappear from view, the seconds then minutes slowly ticked by as her adrenalin rush began to fade. Nyota closed her eyes against the pain now threatening to overwhelm her entire body. Her right wrist was already starting to swell, she was beginning to feel dizzy, and her vision was now starting to blur. She closed her eyes in order to concentrate better, but she could feel herself growing even more lightheaded as the seconds passed. But still she held on to the cable. Her gloves were now soaked in sweat and she clenched her teeth in concentration as she gripped the cable even tighter not wanting her perspiration to somehow loosen her grip on the cable. She slowly became aware of something warm dripping down her left leg and she forced herself to open her eyes and look down at her left thigh. Somehow during her frantic efforts to secure the cable, the broken end of the cable had embedded itself deeply into her thigh. Surprisingly she didn't feel any pain and she knew that meant that the cable end had penetrated deep within her muscles and beyond the sensing range of her nerves. She watched as large drops of her blood slowly dripped from her thigh onto the tree trunk below her and gradually seeped into the bark. She knew now that she was slowly slipping into shock and would soon lose consciousness. But she still refused to let go of the cable. After a few minutes she felt her eyes closing of their own accord, her exhaustion apparently accelerating the speed at which her body was succumbing to shock. She blinked rapidly trying her best to keep her eyes opened and focused but within seconds she felt her eyes close against her will.

Suddenly Tucker's voice drifted up to her from below rousing her. "Ny! Ny!" He called out to her frantically. "Hold on! We're coming to get you!" He yelled up to her from the base of the tree.

She realized that she must have faded out of consciousness for more than just a few minutes as she slowly opened her eyes, looked down and saw Tucker and some of the other members of her squad looking up at her from the forest floor. She realized that she was still holding onto the cable, the tendons, ligaments, and muscles in her hands now frozen in their grip. She tried to let go of the cable but found she could not.

Tucker immediately started climbing up the tree quickly followed by four other of her team mates. Tucker was the first to reach her. He looked at her leg and winced. "Everybody get a hand on her and lift her….gently!" He ordered.

Tucker then looked deep into her eyes trying to assess her condition, his face quite somber. She suddenly felt different sets of hands on her slowly lifting her up and laying her back onto the large tree branch. She found that she was still unable to let go of the cable. "You can let go now, Ny." He reassured her. "We've got you." He then gently pulled the cable from her now loosening grip.

"What about Travis?" she asked him weakly. Travis was the last member of the squad going down the zip line and he had no doubt fallen too.

"The medics have already gotten to him and they are going to be flying him out of here and to the hospital in Jackson." Tucker reported continuing to look deeply into her eyes trying to ascertain her current condition as he fumbled around in his medical bag. He then gently pried open her mouth and placed a rubberized mouthpiece into her mouth. "I'm going to need to pull that cable out of your leg Ny, and it's going to hurt like hell when I do. So I want you to bite down on this hard and close your eyes." He told her as he looked down at the cable quickly calculating the best way to pull on it. "I can't treat you up here in the tree and if we don't get that cable out of you, you're going to bleed out."

She slowly began to close her eyes, and Nyota suddenly felt all the hands tighten their grip on her as Tucker reached down to grip the cable tightly just above her thigh. "OK everyone…one…two….three." she heard him say loudly.

Nyota's vision dimmed into blackness on Tucker's 'three' as she immediately lapsed into a state of blissful and unfeeling unconsciousness.

When she became aware again, she was bound and bundled into a medical evacuation basket. She slowly looked around, her head now feeling as if it now was stuffed full of cotton. Her eyes were burning and she could see black dots within her field of vision. Suddenly she felt a warm hand on her arm.

"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty!" Tucker called out cheerfully to her. "'Bout time you woke up!" He ran a hand held medical sensor over her chest and head. "Your vitals are improving quickly." He said smiling broadly at her. "I know you're feeling kinda fuzzy right now, but I gave you something that will make you sleep while we are carrying you back to the transport area. That way your leg won't hurt as much. The cable end was a clean break, so Dr. Cain was able to regenerate most of the muscle and suture up the hole in your leg. We also gave you two units of plasma. I'm going to keep the IV in you for a little longer in order to replenish your lost fluids; sorta top you off so to speak. Your right wrist was severely sprained, but we have already reduced the swelling and repaired the damage sonically. You are pretty bruised and scratched up too. So to summarize your condition Cadet Uhura: You will be moving around a little slower than your usual greased lightning speed for the next couple of weeks while you are on medical leave, but you will make a complete recovery. And you know you **will** get a free ride with your classes for the next two weeks too. But best of all, Ny, the C.O. has decided to call it a week, so the whole team is headed back home with you, thank you very much!" He finished cheerfully.

Nyota smiled at Tucker. "Well I **am **glad I could take all of you home with me." She replied slowly, struggling to get the words out. She knew that the drugs were starting to kick in now and as she slowly closed her eyes and felt herself slowly falling into unconsciousness, the last thing she heard was Tucker's voice and the feel of his warm hand surrounding hers.

Tucker had taken her left hand into his right one and squeezed it tenderly watching her close her eyes as the drugs took effect. "I am too, Ny. I am too." He whispered to her.

Upon leaving his classroom building, Spock literally ran all the way to the Field Training offices. But even the shortest route meant literally traveling the length of the large campus around and though numerous buildings in order to reach his destination. As he finally entered the training office building, He chose to run up the stair way instead of taking the lifts to the 20th floor of the building where the coordinators for cadet field training were officed. He had worked with this department quite frequently when he had been a cadet, and he had hoped that some of the personnel now on staff were the same ones that he had worked with before. He would then be able to use his personal influence in order to gain information about Nyota's accident and discover where she was going to be sent for treatment. He knew he would use any means necessary in order that he be at her side during her recovery. He had begun to physically ache for her presence now.

As he ran up the stairs he began to realize that somehow he and Nyota had managed to become a bonded pair without using any of the traditional Vulcan methods of bonding. No other reason would explain just how he was to see what she saw and feel what she had felt at the time of the accident. And no other reason would explain how he felt at the moment either. Suddenly an unexpected sharp pain shot through his left thigh, causing him to fall heavily against the railing of the stairs as he fought to support himself. He forced himself to sit down and began to focus on his bond with Nyota. He felt the bond pulse momentarily and suddenly his heart was racing, fearing the worst. But then after several seconds the bond stabilized and he knew that she had fallen into unconsciousness again.

Suddenly his felt his familial bond bristle with activity. He felt his mother's confusion and concern over his current emotional state and he also felt his father's surprise. He had quickly sent calmness back to both of them as he raised his emotional shields. He had been keeping his growing relationship with Nyota as separated as he could from his familial bond. Spock knew however that his very intuitive mother had no doubt already figured out the connection between his 'mystery runner' and his TA even though she did not speak of it directly to him in their weekly communications.

He gently probed his bond with Nyota again and found her to be still unconscious, but her body's damage now being repaired and her condition beginning to stabilize. He felt relief surge through him with this knowledge.

He knew that he must contact T'Pau his clan's leader and his paternal grandmother as soon as possible for her advice and knowledge about his bond with Nyota. Spock knew that she would know how to help them. He suddenly felt a nudge through his familial bond from T'Pau. It seemed that she was already aware of their situation and immediately sent him calmness and clarity of purpose down through their bond.

He finally emerged from the stair case in the 20th floor hallway. He forced himself to stop momentarily so as to regain his composure and present a calm exterior as he entered the office. He realized that he was breathing quite hard and he knew that his loss of breathing control was not solely from his physical exertion. His current level of stress was still quite high no doubt because of his lack of nourishment and sleep during the past three weeks. He quickly focused his mind and slowly his breathing returned to normal. He then quickly calmed and centered himself before he walked through the office door.

As he walked into the office he saw Captain David Sanderson standing at the front desk, his head bent over the desk, concern quite evident in his face. Spock had worked with the Captain before and found him to be an honorable and able officer as well as a tireless worker.

"Captain Sanderson." Spock called out to him.

The Captain turned immediately to face Spock. "Commander Spock." He replied cheerfully. "Long time no see, mi compadre."

"I too consider it most fortuitous being in your company again, Captain." Spock replied bowing his head respectfully. "I am here seeking information on the accident involving Squad 1132."

"Jeez, news travels faster than warp speed around here, doesn't it?" Sanderson replied. "You know that I can't give you all the details of the accident at this time, Commander."

"I understand that completely, Captain." Spock replied "What I am seeking is information on Cadet Uhura; in particular where she is being sent for treatment." Spock explained quietly. "I have a responsibility and duty to her family as her supervisor to keep them informed of her condition." Spock knew that he was running somewhat of a bluff here at the moment as he was not currently Nyota's supervisor, but he also knew the Captain well enough to know how he had responded to personnel inquiries in the past.

Captain Sanderson sighed heavily. "I have just been in contact with Dr. Cain, her attending physician. Cadet Uhura has been treated in the field by both the medics and field doctors and she is currently recovering from her injuries. She will no doubt be on medical leave pending progress checkups once she returns to the Academy. I have just ordered the remainder of the team exercise to be cancelled since it is the last day of training anyway. All team members, with the exception of Cadet Travis who was seriously injured and is currently in the hospital in Jackson, are to report back to campus effective immediately. So Cadet Uhura will soon be on her way back to the Academy on the same transport as her teammates. Their ETA at the Academy is one and a half hours. Dr. Cain is traveling with her on the shuttle."

Spock was visibly relieved at the news that Nyota was going to soon be returning to the Academy. Captain Sanderson suddenly cocked his head at Spock now apparently quite curious about Spock's overt reaction to the news of Uhura's return. Sanderson suspected now that Spock's concern for Cadet Uhura went beyond those of a superior and supervisor and he suddenly felt great empathy for the young Vulcan. "You can also tell her family, Commander Spock, that Cadet Uhura's quick thinking and action saved 10 of her teammates from serious injury or death today. Most of her injuries were the result of her sacrificing her own health and well-being in her effort to save her teammates. She will no doubt be commended for her actions."

Spock had let Captain Sanderson see his unchecked emotions once already and upon hearing Sanderson's words regarding Nyota's heroics, Spock's pride in his bond mate threatened to surface once again. He had to quickly tamp down his reaction. His calm façade was now firmly in place. "Thank you for the information, Captain." Spock replied, bowing his head towards him slightly. "I will indeed inform her family of the good news."

And with that said, Spock turned and walked out of the office, down the hallway and into the stairwell. He was now walking directly to the transport field to await Nyota's return. He knew that he needed to meditate before seeing her again in order to give him time to process all that had happened today. But he reasoned that it would suffice to just sit quietly in the transport waiting area and wait for the transport that would bring Nyota back to him.

The officers stationed at the transport base acknowledged his entrance and curiously watched as he sat in the back corner of the waiting area. But out of respect and possibly some fear, no one dared to question him about his reason for sitting alone in the empty waiting room.

Within minutes of him arriving, the duty officers left their desk to return to the dock area in preparation for the transport's return and Spock was at last completely alone. He then decided to call and speak with Nyota's mother and father. He had never met them in person, but Nyota had spoken of them often to him. He and Nyota had made an agreement last semester that if either of them were involved in an accident, then the other would contact their parents. Her parent's com link was programmed into his com. He knew the time zone difference and he disliked having to make such a call to them at nearly 1:00 AM in the morning their time, but he wanted to make sure that they knew that their daughter was going to make a full recovery from her injuries. He did not want them to find out about the accident from the sensationalist news media and become unduly emotionally distraught because of their lack of knowledge about Nyota's current condition. It was his duty to call them.

"Hujambo." came the muffled voice of who he expected was Nyota's father given the late hour.

Nyota had taught Spock to speak Swahili in return for him teaching her High Vulcan and at this moment he was most grateful to be able to speak with her parents in their native tongue. He knew that his words would be taken more calmly being spoken in Swahili than in Standard given the circumstances surrounding his call.

Spock kept his voice calm during the conversation with Nyota's father. He introduced himself to him as Nyota's friend and colleague. Several minutes into the conversation he could hear a female voice in the background. Apparently Nyota's father had awoken her mother. Once the initial fear receded over the late hour call, they were both thankful to him for letting them know about their daughter's injuries and her recovery from them. Spock also told them of their daughter's heroics and how her quick thinking had saved her teammates from injury or death. Spock could feel his own pride in Nyota's actions as he recalled Commander Sanderson's words to her parents. Spock ended the call by promising that he would have Nyota call them herself once she had recovered sufficiently, most probably within the next 48 hours. Her parents were most appreciative to him for following up with their daughter to ensure that she did call them.

He then made a quick call to Nyota's room mate, Gaila, and was somewhat relieved that she did not answer her com. He then left a message for her indicating that Nyota had been injured but not seriously and that she was now recovering. He knew Gaila. On purpose he did not disclose where Nyota would be during her recovery over the weekend.

Spock spent the next hour deep in thought and as close to a meditative state that he would dare attempt given that he was in a public location. He had much to think about. Thankfully no one approached him during this time. He mentally began to review the relationship that he and Nyota had shared. In the past 705 days since they had met, they had only touched each other twice. The first time was on the day that they first met at The Highest Level, and the second time was 289 days ago when he accidentally touched her hand while reaching for a stylus. And they had never even attempted any type of telepathic link. Given this data, it should have been impossible for them to have bonded. Yet the events of the past three hours seemed to make the impossible quite possible indeed.

The whine from a transporter engine quickly roused him from his semi-meditative state. He stood up and walked up to the officer's duty desk.

"Is this transport the one carrying Squad 1132 back from Yellowstone?" he asked one of the officers.

"Yes, Commander." Came the officer's quick reply.

Spock nodded at the man and walked back to sit down and wait for the cadets to disembark. He reasoned that as a result of her injury, Nyota would be wheelchair bound and she would most likely be one of the last cadets to leave the transport. Soon the doors to the boarding area opened and cadets started walking inside. There were two squads engaged in this particular exercise and Spock began to actually count them as they walked through the door as he waited for Nyota. The cadets were all carrying their duffle bags and walked quickly out the front door on their way back to campus. Spock recognized many of the cadets and they all saluted him as they walked past him. Spock in return acknowledged them silently. Minutes passed and his cadet head count was now holding at 49 but still no Nyota. He waited for exactly 128 seconds before standing up, slinging his backpack onto his back, and walking past the duty desk and out into the boarding area. None of the duty officers even attempted to stop him.

Spock quickly walked up the boarding steps and into the dimly lit transport crew area taking care not to hit his head on any of the 'low clearance' equipment. As he rounded the ship and walked towards the command cabin he found Nyota sound asleep in a bio bed attached to a bulkhead. A man and a woman stood watching over her as she slept. Spock recognized both of them immediately.

"Dr. Cain and Cadet Jones." Spock formally addressed them as he walked over to stand next to Nyota's bio bed.

"Commander Spock." They both said in unison.

"What is Cadet Uhura's condition?" Spock asked quietly.

"Well she's sound asleep at the moment as you can see." Dr. Cain replied with a small smile. She knew Commander Spock well enough the tease him just a little. "And she will make a complete recovery from her injuries as well. As a precaution, I have placed her on medical leave for the next two weeks." She continued. "Her exhaustion kicked in on the flight back and combined with a mild sedative we gave her for the pain before we boarded, she has fallen into a deep sleep which may last for 8 to 10 hours or more."

At last being able to see her, Spock recognized the fact that he was now nearing the end of his rope of self control. He knew that could no longer be apart from her. He had to touch her. He fought to keep his emotions in check so as to not draw undue suspicions from either the Doctor or the Cadet. "So it is safe for her to travel then?" he asked already planning out how he was going to transport her back to his apartment.

"She's OK to travel, but I really don't want her walking any more than she has to for the next several days." Dr. Cain replied. "And I can't release her now because she is unable to care for herself at the present time. So we are waiting for ground transportation to the hospital where she can sleep off the drugs and her exhaustion until tomorrow. When she wakes up tomorrow she should be well enough to care for herself."

"I will accept full responsibility for her care tonight, Doctor." Spock announced quietly. "I will then care for her until she is able to care for herself again."

Dr. Cain was a 40 year veteran of Star Fleet. She and Spock had known each other since Spock was a first year at the Academy. She respected and trusted Spock knowing without doubt that he was a fine officer as well as a gentleman. She knew that Uhura had been Spock's teaching assistant as well as a close friend, and that their friendship was most likely behind Spock's offer to care for her. And what if anything that was going on beyond their friendship was frankly none of her business. Her patient's needs were her priority. And she knew that Spock would indeed take good care of her patient. She also had known Uhura since she was a first year and she liked and respected the cadet. And during this particularly difficult field exercise, Uhura had proven that she was one tough cadet, her exceptional leadership abilities had impressed all of the training officers. In Dr. Cain's opinion, Uhura would indeed make a fine field officer upon graduation.

"I release her into your care then, Commander." Dr. Cain replied leaning down to tuck a bottle of prescription meds into Nyota's duffle bag which lay under the bio bed. Cadet Jones then packed her bag with an assortment of bandages, wraps, and ointments. "Give one tablet to her every 12 hours for overall pain management. Other than that, just keep her fed and hydrated and let her body recover on its own. You can place a heating pad on her leg to help with the localized pain. And I want that bandage on her leg changed once a day for the next week. She will be due for a check up in my clinic in 5 days."

Spock let out the breath that he had been holding in relief that Dr. Cain was now allowing him to care for her.

"You'd been proud of her, Commander." Cadet Jones chipped in. "After the zip line broke behind her, Ny managed to grab the end of the line and wrap it around a huge limb of the tree that she was falling into, somehow managing to secure the line so that the rest of us didn't take the fall." He explained shaking his head in amazement. "Although none of us have been able figure out yet just how she was able to secure that line so quickly." He continued his eyes rolling skyward as if to emphasize the difficulty of the feat. "But then again, I've seen Ny do the impossible before. She is absolutely amazing…but then again you already knew that, sir."

"Yes, Cadet Uhura is indeed quite amazing." Spock agreed nodding at Cadet Jones as he quickly picked up her duffle bag slinging the heavy bag easily over his head and right shoulder.

"With any luck Cadet, Uhura will be your commanding officer one day, Tucker. Someone needs to keep an eye on you." Dr. Cain teased as she unbuckled Nyota from the restraints of the bio bed.

"I would be honored to serve under, Ny." Cadet Jones remarked folding back the blanket that was covering Nyota.

Spock then reached down and gently picked Nyota up out of the bio bed cradling her tenderly within his long arms into his chest, being careful not to wake her. The feel of her finally in his arms at last sent a wave of calm through his exhausted body. He leaned his head down slightly and took a deep breath, breathing in her warm scent as he walked slowly out of the transport being mindful of the low clearance areas as well as the watchful eyes. He could feel her now nuzzling her head into his left pectoral muscle. His protective instincts immediately took control of him and he gently pulled her even closer into his body as if to shield her.

It was after 7:00 PM and the campus was deserted given that fall classes were not scheduled to start until the following Wednesday. He continued to walk slowly as he carried her not wanting her to wake up. She was so light in his arms that he had to keep looking down at her in order to reassure himself that she was still within the safety of his arms and sleeping soundly. He knew that even though Dr. Cain and Cadet Jones were strict professionals and would not gossip, the Campus rumor mill never slept. Surely someone would see him carrying her across Campus this evening towards his apartment. And there would no doubt be talk about their relationship now.

But no matter what the gossip mongers would say about them, Spock knew without a doubt that the truths between himself and Nyota could withstand any idle talk. Star Fleet rules and regulations were another matter entirely. Spock had already formulated a proactive plan of action as he had waited in the transport waiting room. But they would need to seek out support for his plan. Spock knew that T'Pau would to help both of them understand their bond's origins as well as assist them in the validation of their bond with Star Fleet's ruling board. And as fate would have it, T'Pau was on Earth consulting at the Vulcan Embassy in San Francisco for the next five days. Spock didn't believe in luck, but he did believe in the fortuitous timing of events. He also knew that his godparents who were both high ranking officers in Star Fleet would also assist them with seeking exemption status for his and Nyota's relationship under current Academy rules and regulations.

He quickly carried her into the lift of his apartment building using voice commands to take them to the top floor of the building. Spock was thankful that no one had joined them in the lift on the way up. His hallway was vacant and he was now grateful that they would enter his apartment undetected by any of his neighbors. The door to his apartment slid open immediately upon hearing his voice command.

He walked slowly into his bedroom. He gently laid her on one side of his bed. He reached over to quickly pull the covers down on the other side. Then he carefully picked her up and lay her down once again and gently pulled the covers up over her. Amazingly she was still sound asleep. He quickly readjusted the temperature of his apartment in order to make her as comfortable as possible. He then carried a chair from his living room into his bedroom and placed it next to his bed on the side that she was now laying on. He sat down to watch her, determined not to move again until she awoke.

He had watched her sleep at total of seven times in the past, all of these times during finals week when she was so totally exhausted from studying that she fell asleep in his lab. As he gazed upon her he thought that she looked so young as she slept and of course so beautiful. His desire was that this would not be the last time that he would have the privilege of watching her sleep.

During the night, Spock left her side only one time in order to retrieve a blanket to wrap himself up in. Once he was warm, he found he could no longer fight back the fatigue that had been threatening to consume him for the past three weeks. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically and no matter how he tried to stay awake, he slowly drifted off to sleep, Nyota's face being the last image that he saw before sleep finally overtook him.

Spock awoke with a start and glanced at his bedside chronometer. It was now 13 minutes past the hour of seven. Roughly twelve hours had passed since he had first placed her in his bed. He looked over at her still sleeping form. Her face was more relaxed than it had been the night before. Her dark hair fell about her face and he was sorely tempted to reach his hand out to feel its softness and stroke the dark waves away from her beautiful face. But instead of giving in to his desires, he quietly rose and went into his kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. He then unzipped her duffle bag and pulled out her prescription. She would no doubt need her pain medication when she awoke. He would be ready.

When he returned, he sat down and watched as she began to slowly move around under the covers. She would no doubt be awakening soon. She suddenly moaned and that sound immediately made him tremble with desire. He berated himself over his lack of control around her, yet he found himself longing to hear that sound again.

He watched her as she slowly opened her eyes. She blinked once, then twice before her mahogany eyes were able to focus on his face.

"Spock?" she asked softly, momentarily confused as to where she was. The last thing that she remembered was still being in the forest.

"Yes, it is I." he reassured her sliding his chair and himself closer to the bed next to her.

She looked around the room obviously confused as to where she was. It was time that he told her how she ended up in his bed this morning.

"Dr. Cain released you into my care last night after you returned because you were temporarily unable to care for yourself." He explained quietly. "I brought you to my apartment, since it was closer to the transport base than was your dorm so that you would continue sleeping and thus recover more quickly."

She looked at Spock her bleary vision slowly clearing. Suddenly memories of yesterday's events started to crowd into her mind. Spock immediately noticed her discomfort and quickly kneeled down next to the bed, reaching out to tenderly stroke her hair back from her face in the hope of providing comfort to her. He was quite pleased when he found her hair even softer than he had imagined.

"Are you recalling what happened to you yesterday?" he quietly asked.

She quickly choked a sob back and looked up to lock eyes with him. "Yes." She replied softly.

"You are safe with me now, Nyota." He whispered to her as he continued to stroke her long, dark hair, carding his fingers through the strands slowly and carefully.

She reached out with her left hand to touch his right cheek tenderly. He closed his eyes at the sensation of the cool touch of her skin upon his heated face. She had never touched him like that before and he immediately craved more of her touch in spite of knowing that such desires were not proper given the current circumstances.

"Yesterday I thought I was never going to see you again. And I..I.…" she began to hesitate, the tears now welling up in her eyes. She then forced herself to look deeper into his eyes finding the strength there to continue with her confession. "…and I thought that I would go to my death without being able to tell you that I **loved** you, Spokh." She told him, her chin now beginning to tremble with the emotion in her voice. "I have been such a fool, Spokh." She admitted quietly as she began to caress his cheek. "What we have between us is more important than careers, politics, **and** Star Fleet." She continued as she reached out now with her injured right hand to cup his face between her small hands. "Please forgive me for treating you so badly after I returned from my trip to Africa. I believed that it would be in both our best interests if we kept our relationship on a strictly professional level. But I was so wrong."

With her words, the emotional dam that Spock had been keeping his feelings for her behind for the past 706 days finally broke. He gently pulled out of her grasp suddenly unable to keep eye contact with her, placed his head next to her waist on the bed, and pulled her hips into him gently as he fought to control his now overflowing emotions. He quietly began speaking in Vulcan to her. "You need not ever ask for my forgiveness for it is already given to you." He said solemnly, leaning his forehead more into her hips. "While I was teaching class yesterday, your mind touched my mind. I saw what you saw and I felt what you felt as you fell." He continued quietly, his voice now muffled by the fabric of her uniform pants. "You believed that you would die and you cried out for me." He was barely managing to choke the words out now. "I was so overcome with emotion at the thought of you dying that I thought that I too would perish, because I no longer wanted to live in a universe where you did not exist." He declared quietly. "The first time that my eyes beheld you at the track field, I knew that I was experiencing shan'hal'lak. And in the 706 terran days that have passed since that time, I have come to realize that you are my k'hat'n'dlawa. We are now bonded to each other Nyota, and although I am unable to fathom the how of it, I do clearly understand the why of it, ashayam."

"Come here unto me, Spokh." She pleaded quietly now speaking in Vulcan so as to not be misunderstood for the words she spoke were very important to her. She reached down to gently pull on his left shoulder She was still so exhausted and she knew that she was now on the verge of passing out again after so thoroughly draining herself emotionally in her confession to him. And she wanted to make sure that both of them were well rested before they talked further. "I must be near you now if I am to rest properly. We both require additional sleep. Let us talk more once we have both rested, k'diwa."

He raised his head up to look at her, his eyes quickly blinking away unshed tears. "I cannot." He replied looking down and away from her. "It is not proper."

She smiled a tired smile at him. "Don't worry. I will try to keep my hands to myself, Commander." She quickly replied in Standard.

He looked up at her in surprise and their eyes met once more. She had begun to tease him again. That in and of itself was an indication that their relationship was now on the mend. Spock sighed to himself knowing that he would willingly do anything and everything she wanted him to do now. "Do you require your pain medication or a heating pad for your leg before you sleep?"

She continued to gently pull on him until he pulled back the covers and lay down with her turning onto his right side so that he could face her. She reached out and tenderly stroked his left cheek. He closed his eyes at her touch. She then took his left hand in hers positioning his large hand across the bandage on her left thigh as his eyes opened wide and he looked down at where his hand now lay on her thigh.

"I don't need the pain medication." She said confidently as he began to finally relax his arm and hand now lying across her injured thigh. "But my leg can definitely make use of this wonderful heating pad of yours, thank-you-very-much."

"Computer" Spock called out quietly into the room. "Window shades at 80%."

The room immediately darkened. Nyota couldn't help but sigh as she felt the heat of his hand on her. Spock felt as if a huge weight had now been lifted from him as her body's heat began to merge with the heat of his own hand. Slowly each of them relaxed into the other and within minutes they were both sound asleep.

Nyota awoke before him, her opening eyes immediately seeking him out. And as she looked at him she realized that he still lay on his right side, but under the covers she felt that his left hand had moved from her thigh to her hip as they slept. And her body had some how somehow managed to roll over onto her left side to face him, She surprisingly found that she was now sharing his pillow, her body now positioned within inches of his. She gingerly moved her left leg and was relieved that there was minimal pain in the movement.

She then diverted her attention to Spock's handsome face. In the almost two years she had known him, she had never seen him asleep before. His face was relaxed and his lips slightly apart. His breathing was slow and deep. She was struck by just how young he looked now that the tension and control was gone from his face. She had only seen him lightly stubbled on a few rare occasions in the past and then only late in the evening. But she saw that his beard had now darkened his cheeks, chin, and neck with dense black whiskers. She had to fight back a sudden urge to rub her fingertips through the dark bristles on his face.

She continued her visual exploration of his face stopping at his cheekbones. It was quite obvious to her that he had lost weight as she looked at his cheekbones. Their forced separation must have affected his appetite just like it had done with her. She felt another wave of regret wash over her. She was more determined than ever now to make things right between them again.

As the minutes passed by, she just let herself enjoy the sensation of being so close him. Her stomach growled in hunger several times and she hoped that the sound would not rouse him from his slumber. There would be time for food later. Right now she only wanted him. She found herself memorizing every detail of his face as she continued to lie next to him in his bed.

Spock slowly opened his eyes. He immediately found himself staring into the beautiful mahogany eyes of Nyota. He was still laying on his right side but she was now lying on her left side, her head resting on the same pillow as his, her face and body exactly 22 centimeters from his. Because of their sleep patterns, Vulcans normally did not exhibit nocturnal penile tumescence in the morning. However in the 706 mornings since he had first seen Nyota, Spock had experienced 'morning wood' 89.6% of those mornings. Spock now felt his pants stretched impossibly tight in the crotch area. He did want to appear that he was trying to take advantage of her. Fortunately this traitorous part of his body was covered by the bed sheets at the moment and he began to consciously will his erection to subside. But he was finding this particularly hard to do as she continued to lock her beautiful eyes with his.

"Good morning…or should I say good afternoon." She greeted him teasingly, her eyes smiling at him behind her words.

Spock's internal chronometer was validated as he rose up slightly in order to look at his bedside chronometer. It was now13:09 PM.

Suddenly Spock's stomach grumbled and Nyota starting laughing. "My tummy's been sounding like that for the past 30 minutes."

Spock's eyes widened. He should have been up an hour ago preparing food for her instead of sleeping. "I should have awakened earlier. I will now go prepare food. You require sustenance in order to enable your body to repair itself." he said apologetically slowly rolling away from her and off the bed. As he rose from the bed, he made sure that his body was turned in a way that would not expose his still very obvious 'pup tent' to her

"You needed the rest just like I did." She replied sitting up in the bed. She quickly threw the covers off of her and began to ease out of his bed.

He immediately turned back to her in order to help her get out of his bed without straining herself. Unfortunately this resulted in his slowly deflating erection being still quite obvious. He watched as her eyes quickly turned away from his waistline as he suddenly felt his face heat up with embarrassment.

"Please forgive me, but my body is not listening to my mind's commands at all this morning." He apologized quietly, reaching out to take her hands within his as he slowly and gently pulled her up into a standing position. He then wrapped his right arm around her shoulders in order to help support her weight. He felt her giggle and he was momentarily confused as to her amusement.

"Already forgiven." She replied with a smile "I'll help you prepare our meal, but first I **really** need to use your sanitary facility." She said quietly, looking up at him.

He gently held on to her as they walked towards his bathroom. "I will bring your duffle bag to you so you can properly attend to your needs. I do not require assistance in the kitchen." He said walking her just inside of the door and letting go of her as she placed her hands on the countertop for balance. He quickly returned to her with her duffle bag in his hand. "Do you have a set of clean clothes that you can wear or shall I order a clean uniform for you?"

"I do have one set of clean clothes still left in my bag." She replied with a smile. "But thank you for being considerate."

"Dr. Cain ordered that the bandage on your leg be changed and ointment be placed in the wound for the next 7 days." Spock said looking down at her as she looked up into his eyes. "I would be willing to assist you in this, if you so desire."

"Thank you." she replied with another smile. She somehow knew that he would do anything to be near her now, even play doctor for her. But his playing doctor for her did hold a great deal of appeal for her at the moment. "I'll take a shower first and then you can help me with the bandage." She said slowly closing the bathroom door between them.

She immersed herself in the water of the shower spray as she enjoyed the hot pressure of the spray on her sore body. Her thoughts quickly turned to Spock as she continued to relax under the water. It was hard to keep from noticing his erection as he helped her out of the bed. She smiled remembering his awkward apology to her. She knew the physiology behind his body's reaction, but she found herself still wanting to believe that at least a portion of that impressive display was for her. This was not the first time she had thought about him as she showered. And it most definitely would not be the last.

She suddenly realized that she must have been daydreaming about him for way too long in the shower and she quickly turned off the water. She moved slowly and carefully as she stepped out of the shower and grabbed a large white towel from a rack near the shower. As she dried herself off she looked at herself in the mirror and she noticed that there was very little skin left on her body that did not bear at least one scratch or bruise on it. It was no wonder why she was so stiff and sore. The shower had relaxed her, but the warm water had only dulled the pain temporarily. She thought about taking one of her pain tablets, but then decided against doing so on an empty stomach. And more importantly, she wanted to be clear headed when she and Spock talked.

She tidied up the bathroom knowing how fastidious he was when it came to order. She then stowed her toiletries as well as her damaged training uniform in her bag, deposited the towel into the laundry shoot, and then opened the bathroom door. Suddenly her nose was accosted by the most incredible aromas, one in particular being the smell of sweet potato cakes. She suddenly realized that she had no idea that Spock could cook. In the meals they had shared during the past 706 days they had always dined out. She suddenly realized that the man she was in love with was still very much a mystery to her. A mystery that she would no doubt enjoy solving.

She dropped her bag on the floor next to the bathroom door and turned to look at his bed. The bed had been made up, the room was once again in perfect order and somehow she was not surprised. She smiled to herself at the thought of Spock picking up after her if they actually were living together as she padded on bare feet out of his bedroom towards the kitchen. Her sometimes messy habits would no doubt drive him bonkers.

As a child and teen, her mother had taught her many different traditional and non-traditional African recipes. Nyota had developed into a very proficient cook and when she left Africa for the Academy her mother was relieved to know that Nyota would at least not starve to death while on her own in San Francisco. But she had never really gotten the chance to cook much while at the Academy because her dorm room was not equipped with a kitchen. And the communal kitchen was really not equipped for anything more than just reheating food.

As she approached his kitchen she could see Spock standing in front of his cook top, stirring what she suspected was some type of porridge which interestingly enough smelled very much like ugali. She noticed that he had changed clothes and was wearing loose fitting black pants and a black shirt. She could see his large bare feet sticking out from under the pants. She realized that she had never seen him in anything other than standard Star Fleet regulation clothing ever before. He looked so different now, but in a good way…in a **very** good way. But first things first, as she forced herself to look away from his very attractive backside. Her attention was immediately drawn to the sweet potato cakes freshly cooked and lying on a platter on the counter.

He could sense her presence now within his kitchen as he continued to cook. He was grateful that she had finished her shower and would soon be eating. She had gone far too long without nourishment. After she had consumed her meal he would attend to her wound.

"I am so **starving**." She said to him now eyeing the sweet potato cakes intently. "May I?"

Spock turned to look at her and nodded, reaching out to quickly push the platter along with a tall glass of juice towards her. "Sit and eat." He said quietly, quickly locking eyes with her. Understanding suddenly passed between them and he turned away from her and continued stirring the porridge.

He had noticed that her hair was still damp from her shower, curling loosely about her shoulders. Her beauty as usual had distracted him and he had to force himself to concentrate on her health and well being once again. "You require sustenance then rest if you are to recover quickly." He reminded her as he turned off the heat under the porridge.

She sat down on one of the bar chairs next to the counter and reached over to pick up one of the still warm cakes, not bothering to set the cake down on the empty plate in front of her. She could smell the coconut milk. Spock apparently knew a few African recipes. She smiled to herself understanding just how important to him she must be if he had changed his diet to suit hers. As she looked up at his face, she noticed that he had not shaved yet, no doubt because his razor was in the bathroom that she had been occupying. She knew that much like his suddenly messy bedroom had been earlier, not being clean shaven was probably driving him crazy about now.

"Ummm" she said her mouth now full of cake "these are delicious!" She complimented him as she quickly swallowed the first cake, reaching out quickly to take another one and then stuffing it also into her mouth. She quickly swallowed and then washed the cakes down with a long drink of juice.

She quickly looked up to find him staring at her; his eyes wide with what she knew was concern. "Slow down, Nyota." He cautioned quietly. "You have not consumed nourishment in over 24 hours." He continued to lecture her as he quickly scooped out porridge into a bowl and set it on the counter in front of her. "Please eat this with the cakes….but do so more **slowly**." He directed, quickly sticking a spoon into middle of the bowl with his final word as if making a point.

She smiled at him. "Yes, mom." She teased him as he raised one eyebrow at her. She giggled back at him. Even after the personal and powerful words they had said to each other last night, their best friend mannerisms around each other had not changed at all this morning. And for that familiarity, Nyota was most grateful. His presence as usual had calmed and comforted her. Whatever their friendship had evolved in to within the last 24 hours, Nyota felt very much at peace with it now. "You need to eat too." She reminded him.

He filled up another bowl with porridge and set it on the counter next to where Nyota was seated. Spock then walked over and pulled out a bowl of fruit from the refrigeration unit quickly walking around the counter with the bowl, placing between Nyota and himself as he sat down next to her. He felt her left knee gently move to touch his, the fabric of her pants rustling against his. He was immediately enveloped within the familiar calmness that only her touch could give to him. He was now quite content…and suddenly quite hungry.

"After you have consumed sufficient sustenance I will attend to your wound." He said in Vulcan glancing over at her as he took a large bite of porridge.

She was pleased to see that he was now eating. She knew that he didn't like to talk while eating, but she suddenly felt the need to communicate with him. But instead of opening her mouth to speak, she hesitantly reached out with her left hand and brushed across the fingers of his right hand. Suddenly she felt almost a tingle of electricity move from his hand into hers and up her arm. And she could immediately feel both surprise and affection now emanating from him. She knew instinctly that this mix of sensations and emotions that she was feeling was being transmitted to her from him though their bond.

She cautiously reached out again and brushed her fingers against his a second time focusing her mind on her unspoken response in Vulcan back to him: 'You also require sustenance. Once our hunger is sated then I would be most appreciative indeed if you were to attend to my injured leg.'

He quickly turned to look at her, his eyebrows rising way up into his bangs. Apparently message received. She just hoped that she had not screwed up the thoughts that she was trying to convey to him.

"I would indeed be honored to attend you." He replied out loud in Vulcan, pulling his hand gently out of her grasp. He nudged the fruit bowl towards her using that same hand. He then tenderly took her left hand within his right one, his eyes now locking with hers. It was apparently his turn now.

Nyota suddenly felt a single word in Swahili come through their bond: '**Kula!'**. She looked over and smiled broadly at him. It had finally dawned on her that all those times in the past when she felt as if she could somehow read his mind perhaps she really had been able to do so. This revelation caused her smile to grow even larger. He let go of her hand and she immediately reached into the bowl and pulled out a banana, quickly peeling it.

They both had second and even third helpings as they enjoyed the peaceful silence between each other. After they were both full, Nyota had insisted that she help clean up and Spock had finally given into her allowing her to quickly wash the dishes as he dried and put them away.

He then tenderly placed his right arm around her shoulders to support her as he led her to his couch. "Sit here and I will retrieve your bag." He said holding on to both her arms as she lowered herself onto the couch. He quickly walked out of the room and into his bedroom almost immediately coming back carrying her duffle bag with one hand. In the other hand he carried a white towel.

This **was** going to be a little bit awkward. The location of her leg wound was mid way down on her thigh. She now gave a silent 'thanks' into the air for not only having clean pants to change into but clean underwear as well. She was growing concerned that she wouldn't be able to control herself as Spock would no doubt be touching her thigh as he bandaged her wound. Since the day that they had first seen each other on the track field, she had had many dreams in which various parts of Spock's anatomy had been either on or between her thighs. She was now worried that those dreams had set up a sort of Pavlovian response to him with regards to him touching her thighs.

Spock handed her the clean towel. "I wish to assist you, not to embarrass you." Spock replied averting his eyes from hers as he then turned away to face the opposite wall. "You may use the towel to shield yourself from view."

Spock was adamant about treating Nyota with the upmost respect. And without a doubt he wanted to take care of her. But he knew that meant viewing as well as touching her naked thigh as he assisted her in treating and bandaging her leg. He wasn't at all sure that he could maintain his control once he began touching her and this concerned him greatly. Nyota's mocha, muscular thighs had been a important feature in his erotic dreams about her for many of the past 705 nights.

Nyota smiled at her gallant 'boyfriend' even though she knew that the term 'boyfriend' didn't really seem to fit his place in her life now. She knew enough about Vulcan culture to understand that the bond they now shared went well beyond the 'boyfriend' stage. And to think that they hadn't even kissed yet. She could just imagine the grief and teasing she would endure at the hands of her older sister, Akilah if she knew the details of their relationship.

She slowly pulled her yoga pants down to her knees refusing to think about her family any more at the moment. She then draped the towel across her waist being careful to tuck it in all around her. She was as prepared as she would ever be now.

"Uh…I'm ready." She said softly as he turned around and kneeled on the floor his waist next to her knees.

Spock reached over into her bag pulling out a large sterile self adhesive bandage and a tube of ointment. Spock turned his head and focused on her wound. He tenderly reached out to touch her thigh and as he made contact with her skin; he felt his body grow impossibly hot. He focused in on his task trying to control his physical reactions to touching her.

She closed her eyes as his hand reached down to touch her thigh trying to focus her concentration on anything other than the feel of his hot hands against her overly sensitive thigh.

Spock noticed that she had closed her eyes and he quickly finished bandaging her left thigh after placing the ointment into her wound. His emotional shields were up between them within their bond now in order that she not be able to feel his strong desire for her. But in spite of this knowledge, he could still feel himself getting embarrassed for the second time today. He knew that only one Nyota Uhura had the ability to do that to him. But surprisingly, he did not find his embarrassment around her too troubling. He quickly packed up her bag after separating out the material he was to discard. Then he stood up and turned away from her before she opened her eyes.

Nyota opened her eyes in time to see him walk away from her carrying her bag. She quickly removed the towel and pulled her pants back up over her hips. He returned from his bedroom and walked towards her carrying his com. Because of the training exercise restrictions, her com was still in her dorm room.

"I had called your parents last night to assure them that you were well." He said quietly handing her the com. "I had also promised them that I would have you call them either today or tomorrow depending on how you felt. Given the time difference, the present time would no doubt be a reasonable time to call them if you so desire. Unfortunately due to the chaotic circumstances last evening, my call to them was placed at 1:03 AM Nairobi time." He finished as she took the com from his hands. "I did apologize to your parents for awakening them at such a late hour however."

She looked up at him and blinked once in confusion. Then she remembered that they had exchanged parent contact information in the fall last year. They had agreed that they would contact each others parents in the event that an emergency would somehow preempt either of them from calling their own parents.

Spock's expression lightened. "I also called your room mate and assured her that you were not severely injured and that you would recover quickly." He began with what Nyota knew was a teasing look. "However, I did not tell her where you were to be taken to recover."

"I will call Mama and Baba right now. And I'm quite sure that I do **not** want Gaila to know where I am. You know how she is." She replied with a smile knowing that Gaila would probably be fit to be tied by now. She would message Gaila later after she talked to her parents. Nyota knew that if she called her parents now it would be after dinner and before bedtime for them. And since it was a Saturday evening, chances were good that her younger brother and sister weren't home. The fewer the family members she had to talk to the better. She quickly typed in Spock's security code and clicked on his directory. Part of their friendship had also involved exchanging security codes. She looked up as Spock turned away from her and started walking towards his bedroom. "Are you going to go shower?" she asked him as she pressed her parent's com link knowing that he was now giving her some space to speak to her parents privately.

"Affirmative." He called out to her from his bedroom. He carefully moved her bag next to his closet door and suddenly found himself wanting to place her bag inside his closet, somehow giving a sort of permanence to her being with him now. He did not however. As he entered the bathroom he could smell her hair products, soap and **her**. He found himself actually sighing as he once again longed for her to have permanence in his life. He would gladly be willing to make their bed up for the rest of their days together in exchange for a life with her. He slowly took off his clothes placing them on the counter and then stepped into the shower turning the water selector to its hottest setting. His showers were normally quite brief; but because he wanted to give her some time alone with her parents to discuss the past day's events with them, he delayed turning off the water once he had finished cleaning his body and simply let his mind center itself as the hot water massaged his tense back muscles. He slowly began to relax under the hot flow of the water.

She was a little nervous as the com link connected.. She did not like to upset her parents and in the past had hidden most of her injuries from them. She did not want them to worry about her unnecessarily. Her career choice had already caused her parents enough sleepless nights. But this particular accident would definitely make the news feeds and it was better that she talked to them sooner rather than later.

Spock had made the right decision in calling them last night. And she also knew her mother's curious nature and that she was going to have some explaining to do about Spock's role in her life now. But she supposed that it was better that she talked about that too now instead of later.

Suddenly her mother appeared before her eyes. "Binti!" she exclaimed immediately placing both hands over her mouth in what Nyota knew was her mother's way of calming herself.

"Mama." She replied calmly sitting up straighter "I hope that you weren't too worried about me." She began, smiling at her mother who slowly removed her hands from her mouth. "Spock told me he had called you in the middle of the night last night. And I wanted to tell you myself that I'm scratched, bruised, and a little sore, but I'm OK." She told her in Swahili. Nyota noticed immediately that her mother visibly sagged in relief.

"I am so glad you are not badly hurt, Ny." She replied doing her best to put a smile on her face.

Nyota knew that look. Her mother was relieved but still troubled by something. Nyota also knew her well enough to know that it would be only a few minutes before whatever was bothering her would erupt from her mouth.

Suddenly her father slid into the com screen next to her mother wrapping his arm around his wife and hugging her to him.

"Ny Ny!" her father said cheerfully. "How is my future Star Fleet admiral doing today?" he asked playfully as was his habit to lighten the mood during somber or serious occasions.

Nyota's father had always taken a supportive role in her goal to become a Star Fleet officer. And for that support, Nyota had always been grateful.

"I was just telling Mama that I was scratched and bruised up a little bit, but other than that I am fine." Nyota replied with a smile to her Baba.

"I am glad of this, my daughter." Her father replied hugging her mother close to him again. "I am also glad that Spock called us last night. That was very kind of him to do even though the hour was rather late."

"He was concerned about the lateness of the call." Nyota replied defensively with a shrug.

"The hour of the call did not matter." Her mother quickly jumped back into the conversation as well as to Spock's defense. "It was better we found out from him than from the news media. We worried less." She continued on "And since the accident made the news this morning, I have been fielding calls from the family all day as to your well being in this."

Nyota's family was HUGE. And any news concerning ANY family member traveled faster than warp speed through their informal family network. And since Nyota had been the first of her family to attend the Star Fleet Academy, it seemed that any news about her not only traveled fast amongst her family, but had a tendency to become rather distorted as well. Hence the 'Admiral' remark from her father.

Nyota watched as her mother grew more animated. She knew the signs. Just like the rumblings of a volcano before it blew. Her mother was now entering 'eruption' mode.

"Spock told us that he was your friend and colleague when we spoke to him last night." Her mother noted, her eyes now shining with a giddiness that Nyota knew would not fair well for her. "My darling daughter, I must ask this of you: is he not the one that you were pining away for during your summer break here at home?

Yep. Definitely 'eruption' mode.

"Mama!" his father chastised his wife. "Leave the poor child alone! Can't you see that she is injured?" Her father tried his best to defend her right to privacy.

Nyota had hoped that she wasn't that obvious to her family during the summer. She had tried her best to enjoy her time with her family and keep her sadness about her forced separation from Spock away from them. But she knew that she could fool everyone except her mama with matters of the heart.

Nyota's silence now confirmed the answer to her mother's question.

"Binti" her father continued with his defense regarding her continued silence as an affirmation to her mother's question. "your relationships are yours and yours alone. Our only wish is that you are happy." He stated looking at his wife with disapproval. "Your mama and I are very glad that you have such a good friend and colleague that would call us to let you know that you were hurt but that you would recover." He continued. "And we are also very happy that you have a good friend and colleague that would brag to us about your heroics, Ny. Spock was very proud that you were able to save your team mates as were we."

Somehow Spock had failed to mention this part of the conversation with her parents. She was simultaneously elated and angry that Spock chose to share such details of her training exercise with them. Elated because Spock was proud of her and angry that he gave her parents even more fodder for family stories such as her being promoted from Cadet to Admiral in one day. But as usual with her family's antics her choices were to either laugh or cry and she suddenly found humor in her current situation.

"So that's why you called me Admiral, huh Baba?" she teased her father who grinned broadly at her.

"Why of course my darling, distinguished, and decorated daughter." He replied the smile still on his face. "Cadet today, Captain tomorrow, and Admiral next week." He teased her back.

"Very funny, Baba." Nyota replied. She glanced at the chronometer and guessed that Spock would be finishing up his shower any minute. She certainly did not want him showing up suddenly in the background. She knew that her parents would already know that she called on Spock's com given the ID sequence encoding on their com station. And it seemed that she had already given her family enough gossip fuel for one day. Suddenly she was hesitant to reveal to her parents that she and Spock were more than just a friends and colleagues now. "I need to go." She said quietly and calmly. "But I will call you again before class on Monday."

"Very good, Ny." Her father replied. "We all love you. Rest and recover my little Admiral."

"We will talk again then before Monday." Her mama chimed in blowing her a kiss. "And we do love you so very much my little one."

"I love you both too." Nyota replied smiling broadly at them. "Give everyone a hug and kiss for me, will you?" She replied using her standard goodbye phrase to them as she prepared to break the connection.

"And be sure to give Spock a hug and kiss for us." Her mother replied with a huge smile on her face trying her best to get the last word into their conversation as was her usual custom. "It's the least we can do for our future son-in-law."

"Mama!" her father exclaimed "Enough with the teasing of our daughter. Do you not see that she wishes her relationship with the Commander to remain private?"

Nyota now prayed fervently that Spock was still in the shower and would not hear the rest of her conversation with her parents. She ducked her head as she thought about her mother's words. It was time to 'come clean' to them about her relationship with Spock. But she would wait and tell them about their bond later after she and Spock had figured out all the details.

"Mama is right." Nyota spoke up quickly, both of her parents turning in surprise to face the camera again. "Even though Spock and I are best friends as well as colleagues, after the accident yesterday we are now reassessing our relationship and deciding if we want our relationship to develop into something more personal and permanent."

"I knew it!" he mama said excitedly, nudging her husband with her shoulder. "You **do** know that you talk in your sleep, Ny." Her mother continued. "Several nights during the summer break we could hear you call out his name in your sleep."

"Mama, that is quite enough!" Her father spoke up immediately trying his best to avoid a possible unhappy ending to their conversation with their daughter.

"I do not mean to cause you any concern or embarrassment, my baby girl." Her mother apologized. "But that name did peak my curiosity. So I did some research on your Commander Spock and I found his academic and service history to be most impressive for someone so young."

Her father just shook his head at his wife's explanation for her blatant nosiness. "Baby girl, do not feel pressured to reveal to us that which you do not wish to." Her father replied. "No matter what your mama says." He playfully nudged his wife back with his shoulder and she immediately nudged him back again.

"But I do want to share this with you." Nyota replied almost relieved that her mother was being her usual nosy self. Spock's records were indeed most impressive, as was he. "Spock has taken good care of me after my accident yesterday and we have had some time to talk about how we feel about each other now." She began "But because of Star Fleet rules and regulations we are going to proceed slowly and cautiously in deepening our relationship." She continued her parents now hanging on her every word. "It seems that nearly dying makes you reassess what's really important in your life. Spock has been my best friend for almost two years now. He is the most intelligent, kind, compassionate, trustworthy, loyal, brave, and genuine being that I had ever known in my life. And I have come to realize that I love him, Mama and Baba."

Her mother now dabbed at her eyes before folding her hands in her lap as she stared down at her hands. She was apparently quite overcome by Nyota's words. Her mother was very rarely silent.

Her father cleared his throat quietly as he began to speak. "We are very happy for both you and Spock, Nyota." He said quietly. "And we wish the best for both of you as you seek to find permanence in your relationship. Please let us know if we can help support either of you in any way. You know that our family would welcome Spock into our lives and into our family. Please let him know this also." He continued with a small smile. "And **please** bring him home with you during winter break."

Nyota willed herself not to cry but she knew that she could not keep her tears at bay for too much longer. "Thank you both for understanding and for your support." She told them quietly "I will call you again next week and let you know how I am doing Mama and Baba. And I will pass along your invitation for a visit to Spock. So again hugs and kisses to everyone for me. I love you all."

"Our family's love to both of you, Ny." Her mother replied as her father hugged his wife. "Until next week then."

Her father then smiled warmly and waved at her. Her mother managed to blow one kiss to her before the connection was terminated. Nyota let out a heavy sigh of relief as she lay back down on the couch. Even though she still wanted to cry, she was happy that she had finally told her parents about her and Spock's relationship and she was very happy at the acceptance that her mother and father showed upon hearing the news. But she wasn't quite sure that Spock would be able to handle a trip home with her just yet. Her family was both loud and large. Although with her mother as his self appointed protector, a trip home to see her family with him would be quite interesting to say the least. But first things first: she and Spock needed to finish the talk they had started last night.

Spock slowly stepped out of the shower pulling a towel off of the rack as he moved to stand in front of the mirror. He scratched at his chin as he reached into the drawer to retrieve his razor. It was quite satisfactory to him that Star Fleet rules required him to be clean shaven. He turned the shaver on and the electronic hum of the device filled up the silence in his bathroom as he quickly removed the stubble from his face. He oiled and brushed his hair. With his beard gone and his hair groomed, he would indeed be more presentable to Nyota.

He still did not want to interrupt Nyota's conversation with her parents, so he took his time in dressing and cleaning up the bathroom, allowing her a few more minutes of privacy. He knew that he needed to also contact his mother. She had tugged at his familial bond twice this afternoon. He had already sent a sense of well being through his bond with her, but he also knew that his mother was a most curious being and that she craved details of which could not be transmitted though their bond. It is most difficult to keep relationships completely secret within the Vulcan familial bond. But Spock had managed to consciously shield the type of relationship he had with Nyota from his family. Perhaps it was time to 'level' with his mother before he contacted T'Pau. But first things first: he and Nyota needed to conclude their conversation from last night.

As he walked out of his bedroom and into the living area he was struck by the sight of her reclining on his couch, one arm drawn over her stomach, the other across her forehead. She looked very much like one of the mythical goddesses that he had read about as a child. How could he have ever known then that one day he would be bonded to such a beautiful being?

She looked up upon hearing the rustle of his clothes in the silence of the room. She noticed that he was now clean shaven, his hair impeccably groomed, his black shirt stretched tightly across his lean, muscular shoulders, and those large and very sexy feet were now moving silently towards her. He was beyond gorgeous. She realized that she was now staring and quickly pulled her hand down to her side as she began to sit up on the couch.

He was immediately at her side reaching out with his hands to gently cup her elbows in order to assist her in rising into a sitting position on the couch.

"Thanks." She quietly said to him as she looked up into his face, her eyes locking with his dark ones. "And thanks for taking care of me too." She continued motioning him to sit down beside her. "We really need to finish our conversation from earlier and I guess there's no time like the present."

"You are most welcome." He replied sitting down on the couch exactly 60 centimeters from her deeming that a respectful distance at which to engage in conversation. "And I am also in complete agreement as to the need to finish our conversation from earlier today.

Silence then fell between them. Spock looked down at his lap as he placed his hands on the couch on either side of him. Nyota looked over at him and sighed heavily knowing that she must be the one to start this particular conversation with him.

She slowly reached out her left hand and meshed her fingers with the fingers on his right hand. He quickly looked up and she held his gaze. "How do we do this?" she asked him quietly. "How do we keep what is between us without throwing our careers away?"

"The bond we share needs to be understood in order to preserve it." He replied softly and calmly as he squeezed her hand tenderly. "My paternal grandmother is spiritual advisor and leader of my clan. She has offered to assist us in uncovering just how it is that we have become bonded to one another. And she also offers her protection in the preservation of our bond should we agree to continue the bond once we have discovered its origins."

"Do we need to travel to Vulcan in order to consult with your grandmother?" Nyota asked looking down at their entwined hands.

"No, we do not." He replied as she looked back up to lock eyes with him once more. "She is currently in the midst of meetings at the Vulcan embassy here in San Francisco and has agreed to meet with us at any time within the next four terran days."

"I know that your father is an ambassador, but how is your grandmother connected with the embassy? Other than being a citizen of Vulcan that is." Nyota asked with a smile her curiosity now peaked. Spock had never spoken about his father's mother until now.

Spock knew that it was now time to reveal the identity of his ko'mekh-il "My grandmother is T'Pau." Spock stated simply.

Nyota's eyes suddenly went wide in amazement. Surely he did not just say that his grandmother was for all intents and purposes the ruler of Vulcan. Because that would somehow make Spock a prince. She suddenly hoped that she had received a concussion too yesterday. That would make what she was hearing part of some auditory hallucination. But the humor of the situation did not escape her. "Does this mean that I have to call you Prince Spock from now on?" she teased.

Spock's right eyebrow shot up at her words. "If you so desire." He countered his face serious but there was now an unmistakable twinkle of teasing in his eyes now.

She began to laugh. "I guess that will make me Princess Nyota then." She teased back.

Spock's expression immediately turned totally serious, and he rearranged their fingers so that just their index and middle fingers were joined in the Vulcan ozh'esta. "It would please me to address you as such in the understanding that such a title for you would be indicative that you were my aduna. But we must wait for T'Pau to analyze and categorize our bond in order to understand if our relationship is now the equivalent of a human marriage or not."

Nyota drew in a quick breath. She realized now that it could be quite possible that they were already married under Vulcan customs.

"Nyota" Spock began knowing that she needed to understand fully what their meeting with T'Pau would most likely entail. "I am certain that my grandmother will request that she mild meld with you as part of the process to evaluate our bond."

Nyota locked eyes with Spock, understanding of what he was telling her immediately passing between them. She trusted Spock. And she was well versed on Vulcan mind melds and healing trances as she assisted Spock in his volunteer work with the kids at 'The Highest Level' school for almost two years now. She also knew that T'Pau was a well documented and accomplished healer. And since T'Pau was Spock's grandmother, her sense of trust immediately expanded to include T'Pau.

"Then the sooner we meet with T'Pau, the better." She replied moving her thumb to gently caress his index and middle finger.

Spock nodded solemnly at her as moved the thumb on his right hand to caress her two fingers in return. "Agreed." He replied. "But given your current condition, I do not think it wise to meet with T'Pau today. Perhaps tomorrow if you feel well enough to travel."

She looked at him and smiled. He knew her well enough to know that she would be willing to go today in spite of her injury. But he was right in giving her another evening to rest and regain her strength. She could feel herself starting to tire out again now and a long nap suddenly had great appeal to her. And she definitely wanted to be hitting on all cylinders when she met with T'Pau. "Just give me one more night to catch up on my sleep and I will be good to go for tomorrow."

Spock cocked his head towards her. She was no doubt concerned about meeting his ko'mekh-il now because of the T'Pau of Vulcan reputation that his grandmother had gained over the years in dealing with offworlders. Immediately Spock sought to ease her concerns. "My grandmother is much more agreeable on a full stomach as you would say. So I would suggest that it would be wise to join her for the midday meal at the embassy tomorrow prior to our meeting with her. And in that way you may begin to know her as my ko'mekh-il instead of T'Pau of Vulcan." Her face broke out into a radiant smile in obvious understanding of his words, and he immediately felt her affection spread from her hand into his. "If that plan is amiable to you, then I will contact T'Pau."

Nyota moved the thumb on her left hand to caress his index and middle finger once more. Then even though she tried her best to stifle it, a huge yawn quickly overtook her and she reached up with her right hand to cover her mouth. "Then tomorrow it is." She began pulling her left hand from his grasp slowly. "I'll just grab my bag and head back to my dorm."

Spock's right hand immediately pulled her hand gently back into his grasp. "I would prefer that you stay the night here with me, Nyota." He said quietly as she turned back towards him and their eyes locked. "You still require care and I had promised Dr. Cain that I would care for you." He **did not** want her to leave him. "Dr. Cain also requested that you spend as little time as possible bearing weight on your left leg today as well as tomorrow." He now reasoned with her. "Your yawn is indicative that you require additional sleep. You also require sustenance which you will not receive as the cafeteria for your dorm has already closed given that classes are currently not is session." Vulcans did not beg, but he would if he needed to in order to keep her here with him.

She looked at him thoughtfully and knew that he was trying his best to convince her to stay with him. And she realized that she wanted to stay with him as much as he obviously wanted her to stay with him. She quickly made a decision and squeezed his fingers tenderly feeling affection and relief now stream through their bond. "OK I'll stay, but only on the condition that after my nap I will help with cooking dinner for us. Deal?"

"Agreed." He replied with a nod, squeezing her hand back in return.

He stood up leaning over in order to keep from letting go of her hand. Then he turned back to her and reached out with his left hand to take her right hand within it. He slowly started to pull her up. She felt a twinge in her left thigh at the movement and she did her best not to wince. She knew that there would have been no way that she could have walked across campus to her dorm with her leg in its present condition.

Spock felt her discomfort immediately as he helped pull her to her feet. He quickly wrapped his right arm around her shoulders as he walked her slowly towards his bedroom. "Do you require your pain medication?" he asked her as he reached out and drew the covers down for her.

"No." she replied allowing him to lower her onto his bed. "I'm good." She said as she lay down slowly her head coming to rest on the pillow that they had shared earlier. As she breathed in their combined scent, she suddenly felt the urge to be close to him again. As he started to pull the covers up over her, she reached out to him with both arms. "Hug?" she timidly asked him with a small smile.

He immediately leaned down to her as she pulled him down to her. He was so much bigger than her that she couldn't encircle him completely in her arms, so she settled for having her arms around his neck instead. It felt so good just to hold him. She felt him relax into her as he awkwardly placed his hands on either side of her shoulders with just his palms barely touching her. But ungraceful or not, hugging him felt so natural and right as if they had done this a thousand times instead of just once.

She leaned her head into his neck at the juncture of his neck and shoulder and breathed in his scent as she basked in his warmth. She quickly felt his awkwardness disappear as he slowly leaned his head into her and rested his nose against her trapezius muscle. She breathed in his scent deeply wanting to commit both the feel of him as well as his scent to memory. She never wanted to let him go.

Hugging was definitely not a Vulcan custom. His mother had been one of only a few humans that he had ever allowed to hug him. His mother had hugged him occasionally throughout the years of his youth being ever respectful of his desire to be the ever stoic Vulcan son and her wish not to embarrass him. He had always believed that hugs were simply a useless display of illogical human emotion. But Spock had always tolerated her hugs knowing that his mother meant well in giving them to him. The last time she had hugged him was when he left for the Star Fleet academy two months before his 17th birthday. That had been over six years ago.

The hug he was receiving now was totally different from the ones he had received from his mother in the past. But definitely in a good way. He was now quite willing to reassess his opinion on the value of hugs. As he slowly moved his arms around her and pulled her in to him gently, his whole outlook on life seemed to change. He cautiously opened his bond with her even more and he could now feel her happiness and an even more powerful emotion flow into him through their bond. Perhaps the more powerful emotion was her love for him. That would please him. His own elation at feeling Nyota wholly awake and willingly pressed into his arms made both his mind and body soar with what he could only assume as the Vulcan equivalent of love for her having never experienced such specific feelings about any other being before now. He relaxed further and breathed in her unique scent of jasmine, sandalwood, and warm woman. Her body was so soft and warm to his touch. He knew instinctively that he never wanted to let her go.

Seconds passed as they continued to hug. She rationalized that since she was the one who had initiated the hug; she should be the first one to release him. Very slowly she pulled back from him. She could feel him following her at first, but then he too began to pull away.

"Thank you for the hug. It was nice." She told him quietly with a teasing smile as she lay back onto his pillow and he pulled back slowly releasing his hold on her.

"You are most welcome and yes it was." He replied to her reaching down to pull the covers up under her chin.

She knew that he was now teasing her back. His sense of humor was one of the many hidden facets of his personality. Suddenly she remembered his com and reached into her pant's pocket to retrieve it pushing the covers back down in order to hand it to him. "Oh, I forgot to give this back to you. Thanks for letting me use it."

He took his com from her and laid it on his bedside table. "Until we can retrieve your com from your room you may continue to use my com." He said reaching out to pull the covers back up over her. "Rest now." He told her standing up "I will use my console to contact my mother and T'Pau while you sleep."

"OK" she replied her eyes suddenly drooping closed, her exhaustion finally silencing her.

"Sleep well, Nyota." He said softly, reaching down to gently smooth out the covers over her left thigh and briefly holding his warm left hand on top of her injured leg. Then he slowly turned away from her closing the door as he left the bedroom.

As she lay there with her eyes closed, the thought of him tucking her into bed was quickly replaced with the more erotic thought of him pulling the covers up over the two of them as they lay entwined together in his bed. **That **was a nice thought indeed. She quietly sighed to herself as she drifted off to sleep.

Spock sat down at the communications console in his study. He purposefully left the door to the study open to ensure that he would hear Nyota call out to him if she required assistance. He was not concerned at all with Nyota walking in on him while he was speaking with his mother because for all intents and purposes, Nyota was now part of his family. Such a thought was indeed pleasing to him.

Within a minute his mother's concerned face appeared on his screen. "Safu I am so glad you called." She began wringing her hands together in what Spock knew to be anxiety. "I am most concerned about both you and Nyota."

"I apologize for not contacting you sooner, mother." He replied bowing his head slightly towards her. "But I can assure you that Nyota is currently recovering from her injuries and she is expected to make a full recovery. She is currently asleep."

"And what of you, my son?" she asked thoughtfully. "You have sent me calmness though our bond, but I wish to know if you too are recovering from the frightening experience of almost losing your k'hat'n'dlawa."

Spock face was suddenly unable to shield his surprise from her.

"Yes" Amanda answered Spock's unspoken question "I have known since April that you and Nyota were bonded."

Spock quickly thought back to April. He could not pin point any specific event or occurrence which would have made his mother aware of a change in his and Nyota's relationship especially since he had not even been aware of a change himself. How could his mother have known before he did that he and Nyota were bonded? Perhaps he did not give enough credence to the concept of motherly intuition.

"I am most curious, mother." He replied "How is it that you knew before I did that Nyota and I were bonded?"

"Quite simple my bright and beautiful boy." She teased him "I received a com from Star Fleet administration indicating that you had changed your beneficiary designation to include one Nyota Uhura." She explained with a smile watching as realization dawned in her son's face. "I knew that you would never make such an important change unless you were totally committed to her."

"Quite logical." Spock replied bowing his head to her. In his efforts to locate an event he had obviously overlooked a matter of record.

"I am honored." She replied in a serious tone, unable to keep a small smile of satisfaction from creeping slowly onto her face.

He looked away from the screen briefly and Amanda knew that he was now the Vulcan equivalent of embarrassed having forgotten such an important detail. For his sake she wanted to change the subject now. "You were aware that my meeting in San Francisco was rescheduled for September 24th which is less than 3 weeks from now."

"Yes mother." He replied looking back up and locking his eyes with hers once again. "And I would endeavor to visit with you at some point during your stay."

"Because of the shuttle schedules, I will actually be arriving in San Francisco three days before my conference and I would hope to spend some time with you **and** Nyota." She replied with a huge smile.

"That would be quite acceptable." Spock answered back knowing by the look on his mother's face that he was now being teased again. "Nyota has read all of your studies and would no doubt enjoy speaking with you. And if you wish you may stay with me in my apartment for the duration of your trip. I can arrange transportation for you to and from your conference." He added still refusing to be embarrassed at his mother's overt teasing.

"I certainly would not want to disrupt you and Nyota's **routine**." His mother continued to tease in the hopes of prying even more information out of him about his and Nyota's relationship status.

Spock looked at Amanda sternly raising both eyebrows at her in silent warning. "Mother, Nyota and I are **not** cohabitating." He replied calmly as she began to smile broadly knowing that she had finally hit a 'nerve' with her son. "Such behavior would not be proper given that we have not been formally bonded as of yet. So you will **not** be disrupting either of our routines by staying with **me** in my apartment during your visit."

"Please forgive my curiosity, but it is not every day that a mother finds that her son is bonded without even having the opportunity to get to know her future daughter-in-law." She apologized with a smile. Never being the one to beat around the bush when it came to asking questions "When do you intend to validate your bond with Nyota?"

"Nyota and I will meet with T'Pau tomorrow to discuss and analyze our bond." He replied looking away from her once again.

"Are you concerned that Nyota will ask for your bond to be dissolved, safu?" Amanda asked knowing her son's expressions well enough to find his worry buried beneath his calm exterior.

"That is a possibility." He stated bluntly, finally looking back up at her.

"You must seek to understand her feelings about your bond with her, Spokh." Amanda explained patiently. "I remember back when I was first considering bonding with your father. During this time I had become fearful and doubtful of my decision to bond with a Vulcan. You must understand that for a human, Vulcan traditions and customs can be most intimidating even frightening. Vulcan bonding customs especially so." She said pausing to note the uncertainty in Spock's eyes. "But I am certain that Nyota is brave hearted enough to see beyond any fears that she may have."

"Nyota's bravery is well documented." Spock replied allowing some of his pride in his bond mate show through In his words.

"Why do I suddenly get the **feeling** that your Nyota was the one responsible for ensuring the safety of her fellow cadets involved in the accident yesterday?" Amanda began "I have watched various news reports of the accident and although no names were mentioned, one cadet's heroics were apparently responsible for the low number of causalities as a result of the accident."

"From an eyewitness account, Nyota's quick and resourceful actions were indeed responsible for preventing 10 of her fellow cadets from falling from a height that would have resulted in either serious injury or death for each of them. And most of her own injuries were the result of her efforts to save her fellow cadets from harm. " Spock replied straightening up ever so slightly.

Amanda did not miss the quite subtle shift in his posture. "Then you are indeed justifiably proud of your k'hat'n'dlawa, safu." Amanda proclaimed with a smile as Spock nodded at her in reply. "And I too am proud of her." She added with a smile. "You have told me that Nyota chosen field of study is xenolinguistics, but you have not told me of her future plans once she gradates next May."

"Her goal upon graduation is to serve aboard the Enterprise as Communications Officer." He replied quickly "And she is now scheduled to receive her commission as Lieutenant in April. But even though she will no doubt be graduating within the uppermost level of the distinguished cadets of her class, her goal to serve as a communications officer is a lofty one for an officer without field experience."

"Safu, does not your duties as First Officer to Chris include crew recommendations and candidate screenings?" she asked him her eyebrows rising. She already knew the answer to this question.

Spock raised his right eyebrow in a silent challenge to his mother. "That is correct. However my relationship with Nyota will be viewed as showing favoritism if I add her to my crew recommendation list. You know this."

"And as first officer, are you not to ensure that the Enterprise ships out with the 'best of the best' crew?" Amanda reasoned with her son. "And of those applicants that have applied for positions within the communications department of the Enterprise, does not Nyota meet as well as exceed the prerequisites for such positions?"

"She does indeed." He responded solemnly knowing that his mother must have already researched Nyota's qualifications quite thoroughly. He knew that now was the time to share his concerns for Nyota with his mother. "But serving aboard the Enterprise will be most precarious for her as a first assignment." He admitted quietly. "I would prefer that she serve aboard a ship less likely to be sent to the Neutral Zone."

"The 'best of the best', Spokh." Amanda reminded him. "If that is what Nyota is in her field, then it would be logical to place her name on the Enterprise's crew recommendation list." She continued making her points quietly and calmly. "And serving aboard the Enterprise would actually be safer than serving aboard an older, less protected vessel, especially with you and Chris running the ship." Amanda was not above appealing to his own pride in his abilities as an officer.

"I will take your arguments under advisement." He replied formally. "But I would also request that you abstain from commenting on crew selection for the Enterprise when you are here for your visit."

Amanda smiled. "My word to you that I will not bring up the subject." She replied.

Silence lingered between them for a few seconds.

"Perhaps you should contact T'Pau before it gets much later, safu." Amanda commented, noting the current time on Earth. "You know that she goes to bed with the chickens these days."

Spock's eyes widened at his mother's words. He knew that she had spent many summers of her youth at her paternal grand parent's farm and that she would occasionally inject ancient 'country wisdom' into her conversations. "Ko'mekh-il has not yet acclimated to Earth's solar cycles; therefore she would not be retiring for the night at such an early hour and most definitely not with such a species of domesticated fowl."

Amanda laughed quietly and her face broke into a huge smile. "Perhaps not safu, but why take the chance?" she teased him. "And please message me after your meeting with T'Pau. Your mother is most concerned with the outcome of your meeting with her." She stated quietly, her face becoming serious again as she watched his face fall slightly. "I do strongly believe that you and Nyota are fated to be bond mates. And I know that there is no logical explanation for the way I feel. Just chalk it up to a mother's intuition. Until I speak with you again, peace and long life to both you and Nyota. And please give her a hug for me, safu!"

"Until we speak again, ko-mekh, live long and prosper." Spock replied nodding his head towards her reverently. "And mother, I **am** beginning to appreciate the value of hugs."

Amanda's eyes sparkled with happiness as their communication link terminated and Spock could hear her laughter echo momentarily within his study.

Spock would indeed give Nyota a hug for his mother. He reasoned that following his mother's wishes would not be considered as too forward with Nyota.

He typed in another com link address and waited for T'Pau's attendant; Satuv to dutifully answer the com. Satuv was one of his grandmother's most trusted attendants and had traveled with her for the past 20 years whenever she went off planet. He was both body guard and security advisor to her.

"Osu Spock" Satuv answered in Vulcan bowing his head in respect to Spock. "I am most gratified to speak with you again. Ko-te'kru has been expecting your communication."

"Satuv" Spock began also bowing his head in respect for the older man. "I too am most gratified to speak with you." Spock was most appreciative of Satuv's service to his grandmother throughout the years. "I shall wait until my ko'mekh-il is available to speak with me."

The screen went momentarily dark as Spock's com was transferred to his ko'mekh-il's private console. He had not spoken with his grandmother directly since he left Earth to serve with Captain Pike, their familial bond serving as a substitute for direct communication. Suddenly his grandmother's face filled the screen.

"Spokh." T'Pau acknowledged him.

"Ko'mekh-il." Spock replied bowing his head fully in respect for her. His father's mother had always been patient and kind to him as a child even though others in his father's family had not been. And for that Spock had always been grateful. But as a child he had always wondered just how it was that she could possess such drastically different public and private personas. And now as an adult and a Star Fleet officer, he had finally understood the reasons behind the difference.

"I trust that you and your bond mate have recovered sufficiently from the recent event of the past." She stated holding his gaze firmly with her own.

"Affirmative." He replied to her.

"Am I to understand that your bond mate displayed meritorious skills, intelligence, and bravery in her efforts to preserve her fellow cadet's lives during this event?" T'Pau asked quietly, her eyes probing deeply into his own with her intense questioning.

"Affirmative." He answered her noting immediately that her eyes began to soften with his answer. T'Pau no doubt had demanded that the preliminary report of the accident be sent to her directly already.

"I am pleased that she brings such honor to our clan." She responded nodding her head in appreciation.

"As am I." he replied softly bowing his head to her in silent thanks for both her compliment as well as her acceptance.

"Then I would expect both of you to come before me on the morrow." she pronounced quickly, the tone of her voice being more of a statement of fact than a question.

"If you would permit such, then Nyota and myself would join you for your midday meal tomorrow followed with your examination and explanation of our bond, Ko'mekh-il." He answered again bowing his head in respect for her.

"That would be agreeable." T'Pau responded quickly nodding her head once. "Until then, peace and long life to you both."

"Live long and prosper, Ko'mekh-il." He replied as the connection closed and his screen went to black. Spock's grandmother was brief, to the point, and so very Vulcan. It was fortuitous that Nyota had 706 terran days of exposure to Vulcan personalities in her dealings with him in order to prepare her for her meeting with T'Pau tomorrow. He knew both his grandmother and Nyota well, and he had no doubt that they would find each other most fascinating once they began to know one another.

He thought about looking in on Nyota to ensure that she was still resting comfortably, but he hesitated to violate her privacy as she slumbered. Instead he chose to grade the final exams for his programming class and post his student's final grades. He would also compose a letter of recommendation for Cadet Parker and send it to his supervisor. Then perhaps he would look in on Nyota.

Nyota rolled over groggily as Spock's com began to make beep. Looking blearily at the chronometer she realized that she had been asleep for almost three and a half hours, much longer than she had intended.

She picked up his com to see who was calling him. She certainly didn't want Spock to miss any calls because she had temporarily taken ownership of the device. Her eyes narrowed as she read the caller ID.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't call you earlier today, but I was still exhausted so I took a nap and then overslept." She explained quickly knowing instinctively that her room mate was about to go super nova on her. Suddenly a loud sniff came through the com directly at her.

"Nyota Upendo Uhura if I wasn't about to cry I would come over to Spock's apartment right now and so beat you up! But I don't want anyone to see me with my mascara running." Gaila managed to get out between sniffles.

Nyota began to smile. "Well I surely wouldn't want your adoring public to see your makeup ruined either, roomie." She replied cheerfully knowing by the sound of her voice that Gaila's acute emotional crisis was now past.

"Wait, did you say you were taking a nap?" Gaila asked taking one last sniff. "Are you in his bed? And are you in his bed with **him**?"

"Yes, yes, and **NO** Gaila." She replied. Nyota knew what was coming next. Gaila had been trying to 'fix' her up with Spock for the past year after Nyota had finally admitted to her that Spock had been her mystery runner all along. Gaila had insisted at the time that it was somehow 'in the stars' that she and Spock would become lovers. Gaila had subsequently taken every opportunity to remind her of that 'fact'.

"Well at least you're in his bed and that's a good start." Gaila said loudly with a huff. "Soooooo you're going to give me a least a week's notice before you move in with him to give me some time to find a new room mate, right?" she asked quickly. "I mean it's all over Campus now that the gallant Commander Spock carried off his helpless and injured true love to his apartment Friday evening in order to minister to her wounds."

Nyota pulled the com away from her and stared at it not quite believing what had just come out of Gaila's mouth. Well there was obviously no denying her and Spock's relationship had taken a turn for the serious now with such a romantic version of their travels together last evening now scattered all over the Campus. "I wasn't helpless Gaila; I was just sleeping off the effects of the pain medication that I was given on the shuttle flight back to Campus. Spock offered to care for me since I was not able to care for myself at the time. That's what friends do for friends, remember? Help one another."

"You just keep telling yourself that you two are just friends." Gaila replied her tone serious. "Actions speak louder than words. That's a terran saying and so very true."

"Well terran sayings aside, I'm staying with Spock until tomorrow and then I will come back to the dorm. But I'm on medical leave for two weeks so I would appreciate it if you kept your boyfriends out of our room until after my medical leave is up." She pretended to threaten her.

"Two weeks, Ny!" Gaila squealed "Oh, I'm so sorry I have been teasing you! I had no idea that you were injured so badly that you would require two weeks of leave. I am **such** a worthless friend."

"You are **not** a worthless friend." Nyota countered softly "I'm only off for two weeks to allow my leg to recover. Mobility issues only. Not a serious injury." She explained further. "Depending on how fast my leg heals I could be released from leave early."

"Then what can I do to help you?" Gaila asked seriously. "No sex shenanigans in our dorm room, done. What else?"

"That's all I can think of for now." Nyota replied. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow roomie." Gaila said happily as Nyota ended the call.

Suddenly Nyota's stomach growled. It was nearly seven o'clock now and definitely dinner time. She slowly sat up feeling her thigh protest at the movement. She cautiously rose to her feet and walked slowly doing her best not to limp into the living room. Not finding Spock there or in the kitchen, she slowly walked towards his study and seeing that the door was open, she looked inside the room. He turned around in his chair to look at her as she slowly approached him doing her best to hide her limp.

"Hi." She said not knowing what else to say as he quickly rose to his feet and crossed the room to stand in front of her. She couldn't help but look him up and down noting with pleasure that his feet were still bare.

"I trust you slept well." He replied looking down at her.

Their size difference was quite evident as usual when they stood together. She craned her head up to look at him in the eyes. "Yes I did, thank you for asking. Were you able to speak with your mother and your grandmother?"

"I have spoken with them both." He replied looking down at her, the temptation to take her in his arms suddenly rising up within him as he remembered his mother's words. "We shall meet with my ko'mekh-il tomorrow and partake of the midday meal with her prior to our discussion."

Nyota nodded up at him as she continued to look into his eyes feeling herself grow quite warm under his now openly affectionate gaze.

He could no longer contain his desire to hold her in his arms once again. "My mother sends her regards to you as well as asked me to deliver this to you." He told her, stepping into her personal space as he wrapped his long arms around her, pulling her into him in a tender hug.

Her arms immediately went around his waist pulling him into her as well. "So your mom is a hugger too." She whispered as she slowly began moving her hands up and down his back alternating between light and heavier touches. God, his hard body felt so good beneath her hands. It was only their second hug and she was already hooked. She slowly turned her head so that the right side of her face lay upon his chest as she pulled her left hand up and back so that it rested over his rib cage. She could now feel his heart beating rapidly beneath her hand.

"I have now begun to study this terran activity known as hugging, and I have determined that such activity shows great promise as a behavior modification tool." He commented leaning his head down so that his right cheek now lay upon the top of her head. He tentatively began moving his hands up along her spine coming to a stop on the backs of her shoulders. A feeling of calm at once enveloped him, and he pulled her even closer in to his body. "But it appears that I will require more data in order to form a definitive conclusion." He whispered to her. But in his mind he had however already reached his conclusion: being in the arms of his soul mate was where he belonged. It was only with her that he felt completely centered and at peace.

"More data, huh?" she asked quietly, nuzzling against his right pectoral muscle as she felt his arms grow even tighter around her. His body was so warm and comforting to her. "I **can** help you with your research you know?" she began to tease him.

"That is quite fortuitous, for there is no one else that I would conduct such research with." He replied his tone serious. For him there would be no other and he now wished for her to know such.

She pulled away from him slightly in order to look up into his face again. His eyes were almost totally dilated, his desire for her though controlled was now clearly evident. This look on his face suddenly caused her breath to hitch in her chest.

"That's good because there is no one else that I would perform such research with." She replied quietly reaching up to cup his left cheek gently in her right hand, quite pleased when his eyes closed upon her touch knowing just how deeply she affected him. She had hoped that her words had declared her monogamy to him. He was it for her.

Suddenly her stomach rumbled loudly in hunger causing her to drop her hand quickly from his face. "Oh boy, this is embarrassing." She said tucking her head under his chin and effectively shielding her darkening face from his view. "What a mood breaker."

"I am also in need of sustenance." He stated quietly, tenderly pulling her back into another gentle hug. "Perhaps you would be willing to continue this particular line of research later after we have consumed dinner."

She tipped her head back away from him as she looked up and locked eyes with him once again. "That would be most pleasing to me, mpenzi." She replied giving him a huge smile. Then she watched in amazement as his lips turned upwards slightly. Her smile widened even more with the realization that she had just seen him smile for the very first time. She knew now that she would never ever grow tired of being the cause of his happiness.

"That would be most pleasing to me also, k'diwa." He acknowledged reaching out to gently stroke her left cheek with the fingertips of his right hand feeling through their bond just how happy he had just made her. And he knew that he would forever endeavor to make her feel that way. He was suddenly looking forward to their continued collaborative research on the terran custom of hugging.


End file.
